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Sustainability: our shared mission
The region is in top gear in terms of sustainability. Ambitious as we are, we must take a leading role in achieving global climate goals. In the Western Mining Region, municipalities are working together on the Regional Energy Strategy, which also seeks a connection with the Euregio. A clean CO2-neutral region is our shared starting point.
Industry as a flywheel for sustainable development
The chemical industry is an important sector with opportunities for circular use of raw materials. Chemelot is ideally suited for this because it is one of the top five industrial clusters in the Netherlands with large energy-intensive companies. The sustainable future is laid down in a master plan that should make Chemelot the most sustainable, safe and competitive chemical site in Europe. Sustainable economic growth potential, sustainable energy and cooperation with governments are essential to achieve this. In addition to chemistry, there are countless entrepreneurs who are sustainable pioneers. A good example is Nedlin, which is building the most sustainable industrial laundry in Europe in Elsloo. Awarded Limburg Entrepreneur of the Year 2021, the laundry will not discharge water into the sewer and will halve CO2 emissions.
Clean Energy Hubs: the filling stations of the future
Clean Energy Hubs are the 'gas stations of the future' for freight transport. A comprehensive network of regional hubs can give the transport sector a significant boost towards cleaner transport through the supply of electric charging points, biofuels, HVO, CTL, CNG, bio LNG and possibly hydrogen.
The Holtum Noord business park is pictured as a Clean Energy Hub in combination with functions and services such as a truck parking. With its transhipment capacity, Holtum Noord is an excellent location for modal shift. There are opportunities at Holtum Noord for the development of an energy system with the generation, distribution and storage of sustainable energy.
Together with the generation of sustainable energy along the A2 corridor and the other logistics areas, the region offers collective facilities for transport, economic clusters and surrounding residential areas.
Sustainable residential areas are not being left behind
But it is not only the industry in the region that is fully committed to sustainability. The Limbrichterveld residential area in Sittard-Geleen is a national testing ground in the field of making homes natural gas-free. Three quarters of all homes in this district are currently off gas and are heated with residual heat from the Biomass Energy Plant Sittard and SABIC's naphtha cracker Olefin 4 at Chemelot. We call this The Green Net. This is a heating network that uses residual heat from factories to heat homes and buildings in the heart of the Western Mining Region. The Green Net makes an important contribution to the energy transition. With a target saving of 26 million m3 of natural gas (a reduction of 47,000 tons of CO2), the Green Network can even become one of the largest sustainable heating networks in the Netherlands.
Ambitious towards a sustainable future
With a target of 1.1 to 1.9 tera watt hours of green energy generation in 2030, the Western Mining Region makes a clear statement. Together with residents, we examine which places are suitable for realizing wind turbines and solar parks. The Regional Energy Strategy states that preference for installing wind and solar farms is on the edges of urban areas, large-scale industrial estates and border areas where there are already wind turbines just across the border.
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A growth brilliant in economy and innovation
Business is flourishing in the Western Mining Region with the progressive collaboration of entrepreneurs, governments and educational institutions. This is Brilliant Business! Anchored in South Limburg, our collaboration continues in the Euregio, in Europe. Our region is even a global player in several disciplines!