Companies that need a lot of energy, or that produce a lot of residual heat. We have enough on the industrial estates in Brabant. By taking a smarter look at who needs what and what does not, these industrial estates should be able to become much more sustainable. The province of Brabant gives more than 250,000 euros in subsidy to the VNO-NCW Brabant-Zeeland entrepreneurs’ organization to map this out.
North Brabant has more than 600 business parks. The province, together with municipalities and the companies themselves, wants to tackle 13 of these as quickly as possible. Companies in those areas cause a lot of energy and material consumption. Together, these companies account for 65% of the energy consumption on all industrial estates in Brabant.
Start at 4 business parks
With the subsidy from the province, VNO-NCW Brabant-Zeeland will start at the four industrial estates where a lot of profit can be achieved in a relatively short time. This concerns Port and Industrial Estate Moerdijk and the industrial estates Vosdonk in Etten-Leur, De Dubbelen/Amert in Veghel and De Hurk in Eindhoven.
Robert Jan ter Morsche is director of the company Ardagh. One of the three branches in Brabant is located on the Moerdijk industrial estate. Glass packaging material is made there for the food and beverage industry. “We have a very energy-intensive company. We would love to run entirely on green energy, but we must be able to purchase it. So we have to look for alternatives.”
Better cooperation
VNO-NCW chairman Eric van Schagen hopes that better cooperation can provide solutions. “Business parks are large. You may know your neighbor, but after that it often ends. So we don’t know who produces what and who needs what, for example energy.”
Scarcity on the net also plays a role in this. It is often difficult to return a lot of energy on a sunny day. Then it can be a solution to transfer energy that is left over to a company on the same business park that can put it to good use. “We also have to look at the storage of energy. In batteries, for example. We also have to arrange this jointly for each business park. This requires a joint effort,” says Van Schagen.
Ready for the future
He emphasizes that the money from the province is only a fraction of what is needed. “We hope that municipalities also see the need and want to contribute. You must not forget that the companies themselves have to invest multiple times this amount to be ready for the future.”
“As a province, we can want a lot, but it is the companies in the areas that have to do it,” says deputy Erik Ronnes. “We are very pleased with the fact that VNO-NCW is going to lead the way in the first four business parks. Companies often need an extra push to start talking to each other. This is a good start.”
13 Great Harvest Sites in Brabant
In total, in addition to the four sites mentioned above, the Grote Oogst project involves Moleneind in Oss and De Rietvelden in ‘s Hertogenbosch (North-East Brabant). In addition, Hoogeind / BZOB in Helmond and Ekkersrijt in Son en Breugel (Southeast Brabant). Furthermore, Kraaiven / Vossenberg in Tilburg, Haven in Waalwijk and Loven in Tilburg (Middle Brabant). And finally, Vijf Eiken in Oosterhout and Theodorushaven in Bergen op Zoom (West Brabant).