Official Opening for Bio Base Europe

On 11 June 2012, Bio Base Europe will be officially opened by Flemish Minister Kris Peeters and Dutch Minister Maxime Verhagen. Bio Base Europe is Europe’s first open innovation and education centre for the bio-based economy.

The aim of the Bio Base Europe project is to facilitate scale up and optimisation of bioprocesses at pilot plant scale and run pilot production quantities of new bio-based products for testing, and to provide a facility for education and training for process operators for the bio-based industries. At the heart of the project are the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Ghent, Belgium and the Bio Base Europe Training Centre in Terneuzen, the Netherlands.

In 2009 the €21 million INTERREG project Europe was proclaimed best inter regional project in Europe.

The inauguration ceremony will cover both sites: starting at the pilot plant in Ghent and then moving to the training centre in Terneuzen. In both locations there will be guided tours for participants.

Programme
The ceremonies kick off at 15.00 with a reception at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Ghent and speeches by ex- SusChem board member Wim Soetaert of Ghent University, Sas van Rouveroij President of Bio Base Europe and Flemish Minister-President and Minister of Economy, Foreign Policy and Agricultural and Rural Policy, Kris Peeters who will officially inaugurate the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.

The party then travels to Terneuzen for a second reception at the Bio Base Europe Training Centre with presentations by Gert-Jan van der Brugge, President of the Bio Base Europe Training Centre Foundation, Ben de Reu, President Bio Base Europe and Dutch Vice-minister-President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Maxime Verhagen followed by the ceremonial inauguration of the facility.

For more information on Bio Base Europe and the opening ceremony visit the project website.