Infrastructure company Roelofs today starts the construction of the world’s first test road made from bio-asphalt with Dutch lignin. This lignin is produced by Avantium, a leading technology company in renewable chemistry. The fully plant-based lignin is used as a substitute for bitumen in asphalt, which is derived from crude oil.

The transition to a greener society will create new jobs, but it will also place new demands on the workforce of the future. It has a major impact on education and graduation requirements.

Pyrolysis is on the rise, as indicated by the number of initiatives in the South West Netherlands region. "We have now identified 50 start-ups and projects and mapped them in a technical-economic analysis", says Marcel van Berkel, member of the Pyrolysis Expert Team and the V-team of Circular Biobased Delta.