TNO, independent research organisation, and the Province of Limburg have opened a new international research and development center to further unlock the potential of polymeric materials at Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, The Netherlands. Partners will invest €45 million in the new center over a period of five years. The Brightlands Materials Center intends to bring top scientists and industry professionals together to develop sustainable and innovative materials and application technologies.

Eighteen companies and organizations - among them DSM, SABIC, Yparex and the Eindhoven University of Technology - have already expressed interest in partnering with the Brightlands Materials Center.

The Brightlands Materials Center is a public-private initiative within the scope of the chemistry sector. In the new center, both the soft materials roadmap of the sector high tech systems and materials (HTSM) and the advanced materials roadmap of the chemistry sector will be connected by sharing key competences and networks to fuel shared innovation between the two sectors.

Shared Knowledge and Research Programs

The center will tackle the challenges of the 21st century by applying scientific knowledge to industrial and societal needs. Top scientists and industry professionals will work together with PhD and master students in joint research programs in the field of sustainable packaging, lightweight automotive, smart polymer-based opto-electronics, additive manufacturing and recycling. The Additive Manufacturing program will start with sixteen PhDs and three scientists to explore the materials challenges in industrial and biomedical 3D-printing applications.

Inspiring Innovations in Plastics

The Brightlands Materials Center offers a meeting platform, an international industrial network and high-tech infrastructure with ample opportunities for the valorization of developed knowledge and innovative ideas in plastics. By combining the technologies of partners and through collaborations along the whole value chain the center can speed up time-to-market. The Brightlands Materials Center will be an open and evolving community, inviting students, entrepreneurs, universities, companies and other knowledge organizations to join.

Governance

The Steering Board of the new center will consist of representatives of TNO and Chemelot Scientific Participations, representing the Province of Limburg. Marnix van Gurp and René Corbeij have been appointed managing directors of the new center.