Flemish bio-economy policy plan launched

In 2013, Flanders was one of the first European regions to have its own bio-economy strategy. Many realisations have been made in the field since. The Flemish Government launched the new policy plan for the bio-economy mid-January.

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22 January 2021

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Flanders has many assets to establish a sustainable bio-economy. Think, for example, of the strong research community, the presence of specialised clusters and the availability of high-quality infrastructure. Many Flemish companies working in the bio-economy are also among the top global companies in the sector. Furthermore, Flanders also has many innovative farmers.

Preparation

The Flemish government recognises the importance of this sector and is therefore strongly committed to it. A steering committee with various actors from the bio-economy was created for the development of the new policy plan. Blue Cluster was also represented in this steering committee.

With the new bio-economy policy plan, Flemish Minister Hilde Crevits aims to create more opportunities to use biomass and biological waste and convert them into useful products. These products can be used in, for instance, the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors.

The policy plan aims to promote research, development and closer cooperation between agriculture (both onshore and offshore) and industry. The focus is on four topics: innovative biomass production; synthetic biology and biological prospection; technological transformation of biomass and waste flows; and technology for new value chains.

Regarding the blue economy, specific attention is paid to aquaculture (including the cultivation of microalgae and seaweeds, as well as the preparation of a North Sea farm), as well as marine resources/biomass and secondary flows of diverse marine economic activities (e.g. potential useful applications of waste from fish and shellfish processing).

Furthermore, the plan also recognises the importance of the spearhead clusters in supporting the further development of the bio-economy and circular economy. For instance, project ideas around the bio-economy can be submitted to Blue Cluster if there is a link with marine raw materials. Together with our colleague clusters, we will consider whether this idea can be developed as an intercluster project.