Growing a Green Future

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Within Interreg IV, Groene Grondstoffen (Green Raw Materials) experimented successfully with locally grown biomass, such as hemp grown for fibre and miscanthus grass. Bio-based materials still, however, have too many limitations and need to be further perfected through practical research. Only then will SMOs really be able to start working with these materials. Growing a Green Future is tackling this and introducing a wide range of new chains into the bio-based economy. Agrodome, Inagro and Millvision are working on a pilot bio-based holiday home in this project. Locally grown hemp, flax and miscanthus are used to produce the necessary building materials, such as building blocks, insulation material and finishing materials. Millvision is also further developing high-quality bio-based printing paper and packaging based on these three crops. De Rusthoeve is conducting further research into high-quality oils, such as hemp and camelina. Thanks to new insights, such vegetable oils are recognised as extremely healthy unsaturated fatty acids. These 'new' vegetable oils are evaluated on the basis of consistency, stability, flavour and scent to establish the recipes for food products for which they can be used as ingredients. Lastly, business cases are being made for crops that can act as natural biocides. Research is being conducted to establish whether miscanthus can be a true replacement for the well-known but harmful weedkiller, Round Up.

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