Biopark Terneuzen natural habitat for Bio-Businesses

Rosendaal Energy part of Biopark: meeting the challenge of social responsibility, sustainability and competitiveness

Terneuzen, The Netherlands, 16 May 2008 – Biopark Terneuzen brings together businesses that have the potential to exchange and use each other’s by-products and waste products as raw material or energy for their own processes. Known as ‘Smart Links’, these bio-complementary partnerships between participating enterprises serve to minimize the impact of their activities on the environment, while promoting synergies between industrial activity and sustainability.

One of the companies that specifically chose to establish operations in Biopark Terneuzen is Rosendaal Energy, a producer of biodiesel for the European market. Founded in 2006 by Bart Rosendaal, Rosendaal Energy was drawn to Terneuzen because of a number of factors. “We needed a port location with direct deep-sea access”, explains Rosendaal. “Logistically, Terneuzen offered exactly what we were looking for.”

However, Biopark Terneuzen had more to offer than logistic advantages alone. While industrial growth is undeniably an essential ingredient of a strong economy and prosperity, the impacts on community and environment have to be carefully evaluated. In order to minimize these impacts, the Smart Link concept has meant that all current and new participants in the initiative are engaged in mutually beneficial and sustainable projects, encouraging industrial development and creating more job opportunities on one hand but it also implies that Biopark keeps an eye on the ecological health of the areas and continuously works with experts to insure the flora and fauna are preserved.

These three aspects are all fundamental to the mission of Rosendaal Energy. Rosendaal makes it very clear that social responsibility and sustainability is a priority. “We are extremely aware of the importance of responsible sourcing, both in terms of good social and environmental practice. We are careful to ensure that our feedstock comes from sustainable sources,” says Rosendaal.
At the same time, the company is well aware that it is competing against a number of major international producers. The survival of the fledgling enterprise depends on its economic viability.

“We operate in a commodity market”, says Rosendaal. “We are therefore aiming for large-scale production at the lowest possible price. This means that feedstock flexibility is a must. In the biodiesel market, different types of vegetable and animal oils can be used, depending on availability and price. Our production process must be able to accommodate the fluctuations in supply that occur on the global market. To this end, we will be building a tank farm here in Terneuzen, in order to be able to respond flexibly to market developments”.

Rosendaal Energy is optimistic about the future of his company and his product. “The market is huge, but complex, which makes doing business in this area challenging. We see a cost leader strategy as the best way to survive. The full cooperation we have received up to now from Biopark Terneuzen has certainly been a major factor in helping us to achieve this. We were granted the necessary licences without any problem, and we anticipate no resistance to our plans for expansion. They are committed to regional growth, innovation and the development of a sustainable future, just like us. I know I can count on their warm support at any time”, commented Rosendaal.

Biopark Terneuzen is already home to a solid core of industry leaders who have established ‘Smart Links’ involving the exchange and use of each other’s by-products and waste as raw material or energy and utility supplements, Rosendaal Energy, for example, delivers water to recycling company Heros, and Cargill, a manufacturer of food starches, supplies residual starch, purified water and compressed air to Nedalco, who makes alcohol and bioethanol.

The benefits for the industry are clear. Enterprises can capitalize on residual values that would otherwise go unrecovered and unused, thus cutting storage and disposal costs, optimizing production costs and improving profitability. “Biopark is on the way to achieving the critical mass needed for success”, says Rosendaal.

Looking at further growth and expansion Rosendaal’s preference goes out to business to business enterprise, such as the production of bioplastics: “Glycerine, a possible feedstock needed to manufacture bioplastics, is produced by our biodiesel plant and is in good supply with Dow so near by. Or a bulk terminal for biomass. This would, in turn, create opportunities to generate green electricity and 2nd generation biofuels such as BTL. The possibilities are boundless.”

Press contacts:
Zeeland Seaports - Public Relations
Brigitte Troost
Phone: +31 115 647 458
Email: Brigitte.Troost@zeeland-seaports.com

EMG
Nathalie Chaimbault Peter Ibes
Phone: +31 164 317 021 Phone: +31 164 317 012
Email: nchaimbault@emg.nl Email: pibes@emg.nl

About Biopark Terneuzen
Established in February 2007, Biopark Terneuzen is a ‘Smart Link’ initiative that represents new thinking in the creation of agro-industrial sustainability. Building on the economic and knowledge transfer advantages obtained through the co-location of associated businesses, Biopark raises the platform to a higher level. Based on smart linking, it promotes and facilitates the exploitation of key synergies between its partner companies. Specifically the potential to exchange and utilise each other’s by-products and waste streams as feedstock or utility supplements for their own processes. This contributes to their productivity, to the conservation of non-renewable resources and the reduction of environmental burden.
The growing list of Biopark Terneuzen’s industrial members includes: Yara Sluiskil, Nedalco, Cargill, EcoService Europe, Heros, ESV Group and Rosendaal Energy.
For further information about Biopark Terneuzen, visit www.bioparkterneuzen.com.

About Rosendaal Energy
Rosendaal Energy is a new and innovative company aimed at the production of renewable energy and especially biodiesel. From the summer of 2008 its first biodiesel plant will produce 280 million liters of biodiesel for the Northwest European market. This represents 3 percent of the annual demand for diesel fuel in the Netherlands. With this new plant Rosendaal Energy will become one of the largest producers of biodiesel in the Benelux.
For more information: www.rosendaal-energy.nl.

This release was published on openPR.