AkzoNobel’s Deventer Open Innovation Centre to Startup in 2018

AkzoNobel NV has signed an agreement which will see its Deventer site in the Netherlands transformed into a chemistry and technology innovation hub.

Set to be positioned as a key European centre for the most demanding chemistry and technology (chemtech), the Deventer open innovation centre is backed by a seven-year agreement with the municipality of Deventer and is being supported by the Restructuring Company Overijssel and the Province of Overijssel, who together are investing more than €25 million.

Companies, knowledge institutes, entrepreneurs, investors and students will be able to gain access to a working environment which includes special research facilities, such as a unique safety laboratory, analytical lab, pilot facilities for scaling up production, and education and training facilities

The 2018 opening will also bring new companies to Deventer and will contribute to diversity in employment, from plant operators and laboratory analysts to technologists and chemists. By the end of 2025, the centre should accommodate around 300 knowledge-intensive employees and 50 users in the field of training and education, in addition to the existing 315 AkzoNobel employees. Together with indirect employment, the total could amount to more than 1,000 jobs in 2025.

The centre is widely supported by the local and regional business community, educational and knowledge institutions, the Association of the Dutch Chemical Industry (VNCI) and the top sector chemistry public-private alliance. Currently known as the Deventer open innovation centre (DOIC), the final name is expected to be announced in early 2018.

“We are strengthening our ties with Deventer and together we are creating an innovative centre of companies and knowledge institutes. Open innovation is an essential part of our business in terms of meeting our growth and sustainability targets. By exchanging knowledge with our partners, we will be able to develop groundbreaking chemtech innovations much quicker and speed up the introduction of new applications in highly demanding chemistry,” said Peter Nieuwenhuizen, global RD&I director of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals.

“DOIC offers space for starting, innovative companies in the chemical sector. It will strengthen the existing chemical expertise in Deventer and ensure the preservation of the existing R&D of AkzoNobel. We see opportunities for employment and the economy,” added Liesbeth Grijsen, responsible alderman of the municipality of Deventer.