Feasibility study NextGen District Antwerp
Former Opel site becomes innovative business district for circular industry and energy transition
PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Port of Antwerp-Bruges wants to use the Churchill Industrial Zone, which is near Europe's largest chemical cluster, in the transition to a sustainable economy.
The solution
To attract the right companies to do this, Arcadis has studied the set-up conditions that the site must meet and how collaboration between companies can be maximized.
The impact
The port will become a hub for the circular economy where companies can work on innovative concepts together.
88 ha
industrial zone
100+
new jobs
The challenge
The former Opel site, also known as the Churchill Industrial Zone, occupies approximately 88 ha (equivalent to 110 soccer pitches) and is one of the last available large sites at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. The zone has multimodal access and is near Europe's largest integrated petrochemical cluster, enabling interaction with existing companies and suppliers. Port of Antwerp-Bruges wants to use this strategic zone in the transition to a sustainable circular economy and provide opportunities to small innovative startups.
The solution
Port of Antwerp-Bruges attaches great importance to innovation, energy transition and employment, and is looking specifically for companies that share this vision and which will strengthen the cluster. To attract the right companies to do this, Arcadis has studied the set-up conditions that companies must meet and how collaboration between them can be maximized. We have also considered what utility infrastructure is needed and how we can best integrate it into the redevelopment plan.
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Living Lab
A living lab, which is part of the redevelopment plans, gives businesses the space to fully develop and test in practice their innovative concepts in the field of sustainable chemistry with the necessary facilities.
The impact
Arcadis sees ports as hubs for the circular economy. The waste produced by company A could be the raw materials needed by company B. In this sense, the ideal scenario would be that they already collaborate as part of a port community and have a vast and varied industrial estate at their disposal. In this case, innovation through industrial interaction would not be limited to exchanging waste and materials, but could also include other utilities, such as steam, energy, heat and gray water.