News

The draft of the 2021-2030 National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture is currently in its final stage. High time we elaborate on this plan.

In September 2020, EnergyVille published a study elaborating on a number of potential avenues for the Belgian energy transition. Various energy scenarios were also elaborated. The next step was to organise a series of debates with various stakeholders to find constructive solutions together.

Did you know that the European Space Agency is strongly committed to the blue economy? A lot of data on seas and oceans can be collected from space, and that knowledge is proving essential to create climate models and make predictions about the climate. But that data can also be very interesting for companies.

Freight transport over water is often put forward as an alternative to freight transport by road, as it can relieve the pressure on our road network and reduce CO2 emissions. However, there is a shortage of employees in the sector. For this reason, autonomous shipping can be a solution.

Did you know that Knokke-Heist will have an artificial lake where it will be possible to generate tailored waves? The aim is to offer surfers a proper surfing experience all year round.

To achieve our ambitious climate ambitions, the federal government wishes to utilise renewable energy sources such as wind energy. Not only efforts in Belgium are considered, but cooperation with foreign partners is also looked into.

In the context of the climate ambitions, the Belgian government is strongly committed to renewable energy. As wind turbines cannot simply be connected to the current power grid, the possibility of storing this energy in an intermediate form is looked into. Hydrogen is a very interesting avenue in this regard.

The ropes that are currently used in the offshore aquaculture sector are made from 100% non-recyclable plastic. This has a major impact on the marine environment. The BIOGEARS project aims to address this issue.

In Ostend, the works to raise the Mariakerke beach through beach nourishments have started. From February, this will also happen for the Raversijde beach. Contractor Jan De Nul has made every effort to carry out the works as sustainably as possible.

The Flemish public sector spends annually over €30 to 40 billion on public procurement. This creates a lot of opportunities for innovation. To optimise this potential, the sector is looking for creative companies wanting to make their expertise available.

Belgium has the ambition to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2050. However, the limited onshore and offshore space is a major obstacle to achieving this objective. For this reason, cooperation with foreign partners is increasingly looked at.

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.