News
18 November 2025
BOND – Circular Agent starts a mission to make better use of residual streams
The Interreg project BOND – Circular Agent officially launched this month. MNEXT, together with partners from Flanders and the Netherlands, will work to help companies make smarter use of their residual streams. The mission: to create at least 30 circular matches that turn waste into valuable resources and contribute to a more efficient and sustainable border region.
17 November 2025
Solution for a sustainable future
Biobased materialen kunnen een grote rol spelen in de transitie naar een circulaire en klimaatneutrale samenleving. Maar waarom verloopt die transitie zo traag? En wat is nodig om dit te versnellen? In de podcast van Living Ecosystem gaan onze experts – Maaike Lycklama à Nijeholt (Hogeschool Rotterdam), Thijs Rodenburg (Rodenburg Biopolymers) en Han van Kasteren (MNEXT/Avans Hogeschool) – hierover in gesprek, onder leiding van host Myrna van de Water (Hogeschool Rotterdam). De conclusie: samenwerking tussen onderwijs, onderzoek en bedrijfsleven is essentieel om biobased materialen op te schalen.
10 November 2025
In control of your own energy consumption!
Technical education and practice-based research play an important role in the energy transition. By introducing students to smart energy use at an early age, we contribute to a generation that is well prepared for the future. This is exactly what Jeroen van Gerwen, lecturer-researcher at the Smart Energy research group, has in mind. That’s why he, together with Dylan de Wolff, lecturer in Technical Informatics, organised a soldering workshop for Havo 4 Technasium students from the Dongemond College in Raamsdonksveer.
4 November 2025
Working together for sustainable innovation
How companies and universities of applied sciences strengthen each other in the biobased transition. The transition to a biobased economy stands or falls with collaboration. Universities of Applied Sciences, companies, and researchers need each other to develop knowledge that doesn’t yet exist in the books. Rick Hagenaars and Werner Müller show what happens when that collaboration truly flourishes.
3 November 2025
How garden waste grows into plant pots with the help of mycelium
In the MycoRenew project, MNEXT and JvEsch developed biodegradable plant pots made from pruning and compost residues bound with mycelium. The result: a circular, biobased alternative to plastic pots that naturally decomposes in the soil after planting.
29 October 2025
How do we make colour circular?
Colour brings products to life — but many synthetic dyes are harmful to the environment and difficult to recycle. The Interreg project BioColEol has now officially launched, bringing together researchers and companies to explore sustainable alternatives: biobased dyes that are circular, safe, and environmentally friendly. The project marks the start of a collaborative effort to make textiles and packaging more sustainable from the ground up.
28 October 2025
Lignocellulose from residual streams as a revolution in chemistry
At MNEXT, we believe that the chemical industry can only become truly sustainable if we look beyond individual processes and adopt a systemic approach. In the Feeding Refineries project, MNEXT, led by project leader Philippa Roots, maps the entire chain — from agricultural waste streams to industrial biorefinery — to investigate how lignocellulose can replace traditional raw materials.
7 October 2025
Fibre Save maakt bioplastic van papier en karton
Every year, more than one million tons of paper and cardboard waste are incinerated in Flanders and the Netherlands. A missed opportunity — because these waste streams contain valuable raw materials. The new project Fibre Save demonstrates that waste can actually serve as the foundation for sustainable plastics. Using innovative fermentation technologies, low-grade paper and cardboard waste are converted into PHB – a biobased, fully biodegradable plastic that can replace fossil-based plastics.
18 September 2025