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... And suddenly, we're 10 years ahead! 10 exhilarating years at the Centre of Expertise Biobased Economy (CoE BBE), filled with highlights and valuable developments. Today, we raise a glass during our Future Rethinkers Congress. Not only to celebrate the past 10 years but also the promising period ahead of us! We are expanding our focus from solely biobased to multiple themes within the materials and energy transition. And that calls for a new name... MNEXT!

Students from different educational levels (VMBO, MBO, HBO) and researchers from the Smart Energy lectorate at Avans University of Applied Sciences are building a SolarTuk together. The students are so enthusiastic about the project that at the end of the day they often don't even want to go home. How great is that!

"I have developed skills related to working with people in different fields or cultures." according to  student I. Conroy, who, together with more than 100 students from 11 universities of applied sciences in Finland and the Netherlands, participated in the Biobased Battle 2023 from March 27th until March 30th. In total agreement according to Mara van Eijndhoven, organization of the Battle; Developing new skills among students from various fields and cultures and learning from each other's expertise and working methods are important motivators for organizing the challenge-based research and teaching activity.

On the evening before the Provincial Council elections, Brabant gives Energy took the initiative to start a discussion on what position Brabant should take in the coming years in the energy transition.

The CurCol project conducted research to the potential of Curcumin as a natural dye. Curcumin is already used in food and pharmaceutical products and is a sustainable alternative to dyes from non-renewable sources. The project has successfully brought innovative steps for both the agricultural and industrial sectors and contributes towards the proposed sustainability goals.

Plastic waste… one of the biggest environmental problems of the 21st century. By 2050, it is estimated that up to 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in nature wordlwide.

In the “Building On Mycelium” project, the Biobased Building professorship of CoE BBE, together with partners, investigated how mycelium biocomposites can be used for the construction sector.

Public procurement can be an important instrument in driving social transitions. And that also applies to the circular biobased transition, in which the creation of new markets is crucial for the commercial breakthrough of biobased products.

Practice-oriented research plays a role in the material and energy transition that should not be underestimated. This not only relates to the knowledge that is gained in research projects, but especially also to the place where that knowledge ends up; at the students. Every year, no fewer than 80 students participate in the most intensive form of CoE BBE, namely an internship. For 20 weeks, the students fully participate in a research project as a graduate or in an internship. Each and every one of them ambassadors in the aforementioned transition.

Breed lachend en enthousiast vertellend zit ze voor ons. “Jazeker, het begin was lastig. De corona-maatregelen, moeite met het vinden van huisvesting, je draai zien te vinden in een onbekend land en een andere cultuur.” Ga er maar aan staan als 22-jarige bachelor student uit het Braziliaanse Belo Horizonte. Gelukkig ging het stof snel liggen en vond ze, te midden van studenten en collega’s van CoE BBE, al snel haar draai. Nu is het aftellen tot de terugreis alweer begonnen. “Ik neem een onvergetelijke ervaring mee terug naar Brazilië. Bagage die ik hopelijk kan gebruiken om ook thuis stapjes te zetten in duurzame ontwikkeling van chemische processen.”

Binnen CoE BBE gaat de komende periode het één en ander veranderen. De ontwikkeling naar het nieuwe zwaartepunt Technologische Innovatie in Energie- en Materiaaltransitie is inmiddels in volle gang. Eén van de veranderingen die we deze zomer al gaan zien is de overstap van het Avans lectoraat Smart Energy van het Expertisecentrum Technische Innovatie naar CoE BBE. Daarom stellen wij het lectoraat graag alvast aan je voor.

The first “Smart Circular Bridge” has been built. An old material is being rediscovered: flax has been with us for thousands of years in the form of clothing, sacks, and robust ship's ropes. Now the plant fibres are experiencing a renaissance and could become the building material of the future. Combined with a special bio-resin, it can be made into a light and highly stable material with properties comparable to aluminium or steel. The EU project "Smart Circular Bridge" shows what is possible with this innovative new material.