High-level Government visit highlights Delft's strategic role in future industrial biotech growth

On 11 March, Erwin Nijsse, Director-General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, visited Planet B.io. The visit aligns well with the Netherlands’ evolving political and economic direction and therefore he was joined by a broad delegation of colleagues from several ministries. 

Drawing on several recent key reports and agendas, such as the one by Peter Wennink and the National Technology Strategy, the new Dutch government has identified biotechnology as one of four critical technologies expected to strengthen the country’s future earning capacity. 

To fully realise the economic, environmental, and societal benefits of the Netherlands’ strong R&D base, there is a growing recognition that the focus must now shift towards scaling and commercialisation. In this context, the Biotech Campus Delft is uniquely positioned to play a central role in scaling biotech innovations. We had a lively discussion with a variety of different campus stakeholders; dsm-firmenich, Vivici, Paques Biomaterials, the Province of South Holland, the municipality of Delft, and the Delft Technical University. All contributing in their own way to the strength of the Planet B.io innovation ecosystem.

Industrial, or “white”, biotechnology, which covers the large-scale production of food ingredients, materials, and chemicals does not yet have a single, clearly recognised national hub. Planet B.io has set out the ambition to take a leading, coordinating role in strengthening and connecting industrial biotechnology across the Netherlands. The Biotech Campus Delft offers a natural home for this ambition. It is the birthplace of industrial biotechnology in the Netherlands, dating back to the 1860s, and is home to leading companies such as dsm-firmenich, Lesaffre, GenScript and Centrient Pharmaceuticals. Today, 34 industrial biotech companies are based on the campus, active in sectors including food, antibiotics, chemicals, materials, and equipment and services. 

The Biotech Campus Delft is in the unique position to have 40 hectares of land covered by a production permit. Since dsm-firmenich stopped their industrial production activities at end of last year, this land can now be made available for small scale production facilities for the increasing number of biotech companies looking for space to produce. However, significant investments are needed to replace the outdated infrastructure with modern infrastructure that fits the 21st century needs for sustainable production. This is a great challenge that can only be tackled with the combined efforts of local, regional and national governments, together with private partners. 

The strength of the Biotech Campus Delft is our long history of collaboration between authorities, companies and the Delft Technical University. We have a successful track record of not only developing biotech innovations, but also producing them, all at one location. We are convinced that Delft is uniquely positioned in the Netherlands to contribute to the necessary shift towards scaling and commercialisation of biotech knowledge. As our value proposition now closely aligns with national policy ambitions, the time is right to accept the challenge and start shaping the future of the Biotech Campus Delft as thé national, all-round innovation hub for industrial biotechnology!