DuPont Industrial Biosciences has broken ground on its new multidisciplinary facility in the Leiden Bio Science Park at Oegstgeest, the Netherlands.

With its new project, the Dow-DuPont offshoot said it will use the tools of modern biotechnology to develop bio-based solutions to make industrial processes more efficient and   its products more sustainable.

The work at Leiden will focus on what DuPont terms “the most pressing societal issues of today,” in particular reducing food waste, reducing the environmental impacts of livestock farming and improving animal health as well as producing renewable fuels and lowering environmental impacts in the textile and laundry industries.

Additionally, the new Dutch facility will double the potential for growth of the current employee base, DuPont said, with the potential to create 100 jobs in research and development, application development, marketing, sales and customer service.

The new 7,250 m2 building, scheduled to be completed in 2020, will also serve as the new EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters of DuPont Industrial Biosciences.

Calling the “ecosystem” of talent, academia and community in the Leiden Bio Science Park “ideal,“ Simon Herriott, vice president & global business director for Bioactives at DuPont, said work at the new site will help the company’s teams to improve the pace of its biotechnology activities and heighten the speed of its products to market.