At a new TNO pilot plant in Zoetermeer, companies can develop, test, and scale up new circular and biobased building materials without having to invest directly in their own facilities.
Promising initiatives involving new biobased materials often fizzle out because manufacturers don’t always have the facilities, expertise, or investment capacity to develop and test new materials on a production scale. The new BioBuilt pilot plant in Zoetermeer aims to provide a solution to this problem. At the pilot plant, companies can experiment with product formulations and production processes, validate products, and conduct demonstrations before investing in large-scale production lines. In this way, TNO reduces the risks for companies and accelerates the market introduction of sustainable building products.
Opening by the minister
Minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan of Housing and Spatial Planning opened the plant today. “We want to build more, faster, and better,” she said, “so that people can get a nice home sooner. This requires new ways of building and cleaner building materials. Natural, or biobased, materials fit very well with this goal. The challenge now is to scale up production so that these materials can actually be used in our homes. TNO BioBuilt helps companies take that step. That’s why I’m very pleased with the opening of this TNO BioBuilt research and production facility.”
A Second Life for Waste Wood and Residual Streams
With BioBuilt, TNO is focusing, among other things, on the reuse of waste wood for high-quality applications such as doors, window frames, and structural wood components. In addition, TNO is investigating how fibers—including those from waste streams such as tomato and bell pepper plants and pruning waste—can be used for insulation and panel materials. Each year in the Netherlands, approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of waste wood is incinerated, and about 500,000 metric tons of residual waste is generated from greenhouse horticulture. These streams offer opportunities as new raw materials for the construction industry.
A bridge between research and the market
TNO BioBuilt is set to play a key role in bridging the gap between research, industry, and construction practice. The facility supports both startups and established manufacturers, prefab builders, and suppliers of waste streams. Because there is already a wealth of knowledge regarding materials, production processes, and building codes, it will be easier to bring innovations to market more quickly.
