Why Zeeland is a hotspot for future-proof entrepreneurship
There is a lot of expertise and potential in Zeeland to optimise the reusability of products and raw materials. Companies, knowledge institutes and local governments work together on concrete business cases that take into account costs, regulations, technology and available raw materials. If you establish your business in Zeeland, you can take full advantage of this. Many companies with a high energy demand or ambitions to work sustainably have already chosen Zeeland as their base. And with good reason.
Well before the circular economy was a concept, we in Zeeland started the first studies and pilots for the circular use of raw materials. Because of this early start, Zeeland is now brimming with experience and expertise in this field.
There is a large industrial cluster with numerous synergy opportunities, such as using residual heat as a source of energy or the recycling of plastics and other materials. And not only is it there, it is already being widely used.
Innovation in circular economy technology and the switch to renewable energy are high on the agenda in Zeeland. The business community is taking the lead in this and is actively working with government bodies and knowledge institutions to achieve this. This is reflected in active partnerships, numerous pilots and a whole range of new, successful technologies, often across sectors.
An example is Smart Delta Resources, a partnership in which large industrial companies look for synergies, such as using residual heat as an energy source. There is a similar initiative for and by owners of SMEs: Symbiosis for Growth (S4G).
In the area of energy transition, many successes have already been achieved in Zeeland, such as a large wind and solar park and promising projects based on green hydrogen. Also, the first successes in raw material transition have been realised. Furthermore, Impuls Zeeland is one of the founders of the Zeeland Energy Agreement and we support and advise companies on the generation of energy and energy saving.
Hydrogen is crucial for the sustainable future of the industrial sector. As part of the Smart Delta Resources region (SDR), Zeeland is well on its way to becoming the largest sustainable hydrogen cluster in the Netherlands as well as in Europe. With 580 kilotons per year, the SDR region is already the largest industrial hydrogen cluster in the Benelux region. There are advanced plans to convert the current grey hydrogen into green hydrogen, derived from solar and wind energy. There is a huge amount of this in Zeeland. In addition, the possibilities of blue hydrogen (carbon capture and storage), yellow hydrogen (imported), orange hydrogen (from waste) and purple hydrogen (nuclear) are also being explored. Numerous projects have already yielded great successes in this regard.
Some examples of sustainable hydrogen projects in Zeeland:
- Exchange of hydrogen (by-product) via a pipeline between Dow and Yara (realised in 2018).
- “ELYGator”, Air Liquide has a 200 MW electrolysis project in Terneuzen.
- “H2ero”, 150 MW electrolyser in Vlissingen on-site at Zeeland Refinery (TotalEnergies-Lukoil).
- “Haddock”, 100 MW electrolyser on-site at Yara Sluiskil, a project with Ørsted
- “Hy2Zer0” at Dow in Terneuzen, which uses methane-rich waste streams from the cracking process to produce hydrogen. The current crackers are upgraded to run entirely on hydrogen.
- “SeaH2Land”, 500 MW electrolyser by Ørsted in Vlissingen-Oost, expanding to 1GW.
- Development of regional cross-border open-access hydrogen pipeline infrastructure “Hydrogen Delta Network”
- 20MW projects in Vlissingen and on the Axelse Vlakte by VisionH2 to produce green hydrogen
We already mentioned the circular economy, hydrogen and wind energy, but that is not all. Zeeland has an exceptionally broad energy mix that also includes nuclear and solar energy. The only nuclear power plant in the Netherlands is located in Borssele in Zeeland. An expansion of it is currently being explored. This could lead to a huge increase in electricity in the future.
In addition, Zeeland is home to a large biomass power plant and a natural gas power plant, as well as to the second-largest solar park in the Netherlands. This 43-hectare park is located in the Vlissingen port area and counts 140,000 solar panels.
Across Europe, wind energy is on the rise. Zeeland has a unique position in this. The province is situated right on the North Sea, the power cables of offshore wind farms ‘Borsele I, II, III, IV’ and (partly) ‘IJmuiden Ver’ come ashore in Vlissingen and the ports are well suited for wind turbine installation vessels.
There is also a strong maintenance cluster for offshore energy. Major players such as Verbrugge Terminals and BOW Terminal offer everything the industry needs to install and maintain wind farms and oil and natural gas platforms.
Developments in Zeeland’s energy sector
Can we make something that is already so strong even stronger? Yes, and that’s what we are doing. As an advocate, knowledge partner and connector, we contribute to an even stronger and future-proof energy sector in Zeeland.
Entrepreneur stories
Read why these companies chose Zeeland and how we helped them.
How we can help you?
Make use of our extensive services for the establishment or expansion of your company in Zeeland.
Subsidies and incentives
Subsidies and incentives can contribute significantly to the financing of your business in Zeeland. In addition to the favourable corporate tax in the Netherlands, both the regional and national government and Europe offer many reliable incentives from which you can benefit.
