Europe’s chemical industry is at a crucial crossroads, ready to seize the major advantage of using biomass as a resource for chemicals, materials and energy. Flanders plays a key role in creating this biobased economy, and owes its leading position to its strong foothold in agro-food, sugar and starch, promising value chains, recycling expertise and international gateways to biomass streams. Find out how to boost your biomass business in Flanders.

By setting up operations in Flanders, you will gain access to a close-knit business and knowledge ecosystem ideal for your biomass activities.

Flanders offers dedicated, highly specific education and training programs to foster promising talent in the field of biomass. These include:

• Bachelor, Master and research programs at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering of Ghent University;
• Unique academic training at the University of Leuven’s Faculty of Bioscience Engineering;
• Research programs in the reuse of biomass waste at the University of Hasselt and Hasselt’s university college PXL. 

Through the Ports of Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge, Flanders attracts major cargo streams, such as agricultural bulk. The ports also offer a gateway to lignocellulose as a biomass feedstock. As such, lignocellulose material can be sourced internationally in the form of wood pellets, wood chips, etc.

Flanders offers incentives that are particularly relevant to organizations conducting intensive biomass research. Examples include:

• Investment deduction for R&D – 13.5% of acquisition value/qualifying asset or 20.5% of the depreciated amount;
• Exemption of payment of 80% – of the personal income withholding tax of researchers in certain scientific fields.

• ... 1.81% of the gross margin of Flanders’ economy is biobased?
• … 22% of the installed electrical power at the Port of Ghent is generated through the combustion of biomass?