Geleen – (May 2018) – Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL), the innovative learning and working community at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, announced a collaboration with Brightlands Materials Center, a leading R&D center in the field of sustainable materials solutions. Brightlands Materials Center is an initiative of TNO and the Province of Limburg.
With this collaboration, both parties strengthen the footprint of experimental facilities at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the field of polymeric material testing and material processing. Such facilities are highly relevant to support the development of innovative and sustainable materials for the industry, both SME’s and large enterprises. The collaboration will enhance the availability of equipment for both parties, but will also facilitate efficient execution of projects for industry, in particular when students are involved.
“We are very pleased about this partnership with Brightlands Materials Center. We both share the same long term vision that open collaboration and shared facilities will speed up time to new technologies for our industrial partners. With this collaboration CHILL can make an even better connection between students and industry, this improves knowledge and talent development. Brightlands Materials Center will provide CHILL with relevant expertise in the field of polymeric materials that can strengthen our offering for our partners”, said Peter Engelen, Director of CHILL.
“We are excited to start this partnership with CHILL. CHILL has an excellent portfolio of relevant equipment and highly skilled technical people. CHILL works in a very flexible and customer oriented way, in particular towards SME’s, which will support us to define value for our partners”, said Marnix van Gurp, Managing Director of Brightlands Materials Center.
“Brightlands Materials Center and CHILL are two prominent organizations in our campus ecosystem. One represents public-private research, the other talent development,” says Bert Kip, CEO Brightlands Chemelot Campus. “I really like the collaboration between these two organizations, linking materials research with talent development.”
About Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL)
Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs (CHILL) was founded by SABIC, DSM, Leeuwenborgh Opleidingen, Arcus College, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and Maastricht University. CHILL is located at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus. Chemistry is one of the top sectors targeted for stimulation by the Dutch government: a sector which contributes considerably to the Netherlands’ economic development and strength. The south of Limburg is the leading region where this concerns innovative process technology and life and material sciences.
CHILL is part of the ‘top sector policy’ and fulfils a leading role by offering an innovative learning, working and research environment, where education (at various levels) and businesses (from SMEs to multinationals) work together on knowledge development and on new products. CHILL has been tasked to ensure that sufficient, well educated and trained people will be available to the sector. Finally, CHILL wishes to deliver a contribution to the positive image of chemistry and the role it has within society.
About Brightlands Materials Center
Brightlands Materials Center is an international R&D center in the field of polymeric materials with the aim to bring innovative and sustainable materials solutions meeting tomorrow’s societal challenges. Its three major shared research programs are in the fields of Lightweight Automotive, Sustainable Buildings and Additive Manufacturing. Brightlands Materials Center is a joint innovation center of TNO, the Dutch innovation organization for applied scientific research (www.tno.nl), and is located at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, The Netherlands. More information: www.brightlandsmaterialscenter.com.
About Brightlands
Brightlands is one eco system, which consists of four campuses in Limburg. Each campus is dedicated to its own specialism, with the four pooling their efforts in the cross-fertilisation between health, chemistry, materials, smart services and food. A range of entrepreneurs, knowledge institutes and government agencies cooperate intensively in Brightlands. The initiators are the Province of Limburg, Maastricht University, Maastricht UMC+, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences and Fontys University of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with leading companies such as DSM and APG. Currently active in Brightlands, in numbers:
- 282 companies with
- 12,324 jobs and
- 8,764 students.
In the meantime, a considerable number of other companies, knowledge institutes and government agencies from both the region and across the border have become closely involved in Brightlands.
Source: Brightlands Materials Center
