working visit Port Stein and Chemelot Sittard-Geleen

Realising ambitions
Mayor Marion Leurs of the Municipality of Stein kicked off the meeting sharply. She emphasised the power that lies in cooperation and thus the importance of Regio Deal Zuid-Limburg. In the short time of its existence, Regio Deal Zuid-Limburg has become an important catalyst for the implementation of projects aimed at, among other things, strengthening the hilly landscape surrounding us, further developing a knowledge-intensive and cross-border economy and promoting strong and healthy communities.

Koos van Haasteren, Executive Director of Chemelot, took over from Leurs and shared the ambitions of Chemelot, which aims to become Europe's first circular chemical site by 2050.

Port Stein
During a visit to Haven Stein (port Stein), participants got an inside look at the port's fascinating, logistical processes. Jos Schmitz (Business Development Director Circle Infra Partners) and Bob Joosten (General Director Wessem Port Services Group) spoke enthusiastically about the sustainable developments in the port and the importance of ships for transporting goods. What emerged: a small ship replaces as many as thirty trucks and a large ship up to a hundred trucks. By transporting more by water and by electrifying trucks and cranes, for example, the first steps in the transition are being taken. This also takes into account the living environment. For instance, by allowing transhipment to take place indoors, there will be less noise pollution. Working with electric vehicles contributes to this.

Innovation in transport
The highlight of the tour was the demonstration of VDL's self-driving (autonomous) electric (emission-free) truck. John Thelen (Key Account Manager VDL Automated Vehicles) explained to the company the advanced technologies behind these vehicles, but also touched on the challenges they still face. Although 300 of these vehicles are already in use worldwide, partly thanks to Regio Deal Zuid-Limburg funding, VDL can now further develop these vehicles for application in Port Stein and Chemelot. This is happening with seven test vehicles.

For the future, the aim is for all self-driving trucks to cover the 5 km route between the port and Chemelot via a so-called multimodal corridor. The challenge here is that the heavier the load, the more electrical power is needed and a new network of power cables must be built for all vehicles. Before that happens, therefore, the seven test vehicles will be tested in mixed traffic. In other words, they will drive between electric trucks that are still being driven as usual and that have to handle the peaks in transport.

Circular future at Chemelot
The group then went to Chemelot and got information about making production processes more sustainable. The ambition is to turn household waste into raw materials to replace the fossil raw materials currently used. One of the impressive projects at the moment is Furec's new circular factory. This plant plays a crucial role in making the region more sustainable by processing circular raw materials that can be used by other plants at Chemelot.

Working together for a sustainable Zuid-Limburg
This working visit showed that Port Stein and Chemelot play an important role in the development of a circular economy in Zuid-Limburg and that broad cooperation is essential. Innovating and developing on this scale is only possible if we all join hands. And for that, we need to get to know each other. We are therefore organising the next working visit on Wednesday afternoon, April 16 and invite all parties involved in Regio Deal Zuid-Limburg projects to join and make connections. An invitation will follow shortly.