BlueChem to double capacity with new site at Antwerp's NextGen District

06/10/2026
News
Today marked the official start of construction of BlueChem PORT, the second site of the BlueChem incubator for sustainable chemistry. By expanding to the NextGen District in the Port of Antwerp, BlueChem aims to further bridge the gap between research and the industrial deployment of innovative, sustainable chemical technologies. The official ceremony took place in the presence of Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of Flanders, and Johan Klaps, Antwerp Alderman for Port and Economy.
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Construction starts on BlueChem PORT
The foundation stone of BlueChem PORT was symbolically flown by drone from the Port House to the construction site at NextGen Demo. From left to right: Rob Smeets (Port of Antwerp-Bruges), Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, Johan Klaps (Antwerp Alderman for Port and Economy), Isabel Vermeulen (BlueChem), Saartje Swinnen (BlueChem/essenscia), Nils Wuytens (VITO), Miranda Coppens (POM Antwerp), Tine Schaerlaekens (Catalisti) and Barbara Veranneman (essenscia).

BlueChem PORT builds on the approach that BlueChem has developed since 2020: innovation accelerates when entrepreneurs, knowledge institutions, industry, investors and governments work closely together. While the current site, BlueChem BASE at Blue Gate Antwerp, helps start-ups and early-stage companies bridge the gap between research and entrepreneurship, BlueChem PORT addresses the next stage of growth by supporting companies as they scale their technologies towards industrial application.

Space for growth companies in a unique ecosystem

Innovation in sustainable and circular chemistry is neither an individual achievement nor the result of a short sprint. To make the complex transitition towards industrial deployment, start-ups and scale-ups need access to industrial expertise, partners, customers and financing. In short, they need an environment where innovation can move beyond the laboratory and closer to the market.

It is precisely this ambition that gave rise to BlueChem PORT. Through this second site, BlueChem will support promising start-ups and scale-ups in further developing and scaling up their technologiess in direct connection with an internationally relevant chemical and industrial ecosystem. This gives them the opportunity to anchor their innovations and growth sustainably in Flanders.

Doubling laboratory capacity and strengthening Antwerp’s international position

BlueChem PORT will add 900 m² of laboratory space, increasing the chemical incubator’s total lab capacity to 1,800 m². The project represents an investment of €6.86 million. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributes €2.35 million, while the Flemish Government provides €630,000. BlueChem NV is financing the remaining amount, including through a commercial loan from the City of Antwerp. The new facility is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2027.

BlueChem is an initiative of essenscia, the City of Antwerp, POM Antwerp and VITO. Together with BlueApp, the University of Antwerp's pre-incubator, and NextGen Demo at the NextGen District within Port of Antwerp-Bruges, these organisations form a unique Antwerp ecosystem for sustainable chemistry, covering the entire value chain from laboratory research to industrial production. Catalisti, the innovation cluster for chemistry and plastics, further strengthens this ecosystem by connecting companies and knowledge institutions across Flanders.
 
The Antwerp Ecosystem for Sustainable Chemistry was recognised by the European Commission at the end of 2025 with the Grand Jury Prize of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA).
 
Matthias Diependaele, Minister-President of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation and Industry: 
"Flanders needs growth and therefore invests heavily in research. That investment is only truly successful when knowledge finds its way into society and the Flemish economy. BlueChem PORT is a textbook example of that Flemish growth story. Here, in the global port of Antwerp, innovation is given the space to emerge and scale up, attract investment, and grow into industrial activity. Investing today in the technologies, jobs and prosperity of tomorrow is what we must continue to do, even in fiscally challenging times." 
 
Isabel Vermeulen, General Manager of BlueChem: 
"In just six years, BlueChem has grown into a place where growth companies from Belgium and abroad can further develop both their technologies and their markets. With BlueChem PORT, we are taking the next step by bringing these companies closer to industry, enabling them to bridge the gap to industrial application more quickly. Together with our partners, we aim to make Antwerp and Flanders an international reference for innovation in ChemTech. By bringing together knowledge, entrepreneurship and industry, we create the environment in which tomorrow’s breakthrough technologies can flourish, even in economically challenging times." 
 
Saartje Swinnen, Chair of BlueChem and Director Energy & Climate at essenscia: 
"The Belgian chemical and life sciences industry is developing the technologies that will enable us to produce and recycle more efficiently, and to use raw materials and energy more effectively in the future. Much of this innovation starts with promising start-ups and spin-offs that need an industrial context and tailored services to test and grow their innovations. They find that ecosystem in Antwerp, home to Europe’s largest chemical cluster. BlueChem PORT will be located right at its heart. Our ambition is clear: Flanders must be the place where the chemistry of the future takes shape."
 
Tine Schaerlaekens, Managing Director of Catalisti and board member of BlueChem: 
"I am very proud of this next step for BlueChem. BlueChem PORT gives growth companies exactly what they need to make the leap from research and entrepreneurship to industrial application: space, expertise and partners, right in the heart of Europe's largest chemical cluster. And having the first stone flown in by drone from the Havenhuis to the construction site is a fitting image of the creativity with which this ecosystem quite literally makes innovation land."

NextGen District as a catalyst for industrial transition

Port of Antwerp-Bruges has transformed the 88-hectare former Opel site into the NextGen District, specifically targeting investments in circular industry. Part of this site, NextGen Demo, focuses on pilot and demonstration projects.
 
Alongside BlueChem PORT, several initiatives are already operational. Power to Hydrogen has been producing commercial green hydrogen since mid-September using a 500 kW installation. TripleW operates a demonstration facility that converts food waste into lactic acid and has obtained a permit for a commercial installation with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.
 
Together with NextGen Demo, BlueChem PORT aims to act as a catalyst for turning even more groundbreaking innovations in the Port of Antwerp into industrial success stories. This interaction, in which new technologies can build on the operational strengths of the existing chemical cluster, provides Flanders with an additional asset to valorise and anchor world-class research while attracting new investments.
 
Johan Klaps, Antwerp Alderman for Port and Economy and Chairman of the Board of Port of Antwerp-Bruges: 
"Too often, discussions about the chemical industry focus on threats such as international competition, high costs or geopolitical uncertainty. These challenges are real, but they should not define our narrative. Antwerp is home to an exceptional ecosystem, with one of the world's largest integrated chemical clusters, where industry, knowledge institutions, entrepreneurs and investors reinforce one another. BlueChem has already demonstrated its value by supporting start-ups, resulting in around 200 jobs and more than €100 million in investment. With BlueChem PORT, we can further scale up promising technologies into new industrial activity. Every time a company is able to grow here, we increase the likelihood that investment, talent, knowledge and jobs remain anchored in Antwerp."
BlueChem PORT

Render of the future BlueChem PORT at NextGen Demo.

 

About BlueChem

BlueChem is Antwerp’s incubator for sustainable chemistry. It is a collaboration between essenscia, POM Antwerp, the City of Antwerp and VITO, with the support of innovation cluster Catalisti and financial backing from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The incubator was launched in May 2020 at Blue Gate Antwerp and has since supported 28 start-ups from Belgium and abroad, resulting in around 200 jobs and more than €120 million in capital raised.