Action Agenda Process Technologies including Process Intensification

The Action Agenda Process Technology focuses on strengthening Dutch earning capacity, strategic relevance and achieving climate and environmental objectives through innovation in process technology. The agenda supports the competitive position of industry, the creation of new value chains and associated employment. To capitalise on these opportunities, the right preconditions for investment and economic growth are needed, as emphasised in the Wennink report. This requires competitive electricity prices, accelerated licensing, harmonised European regulations, timely and affordable infrastructure, active demand creation at EU level and protection against dumping from outside the EU. The core of the agenda lies in two innovation programmes and a technological deepening programme as a basis for circular value chains, with which the Netherlands is creating the conditions to play a leading role internationally.

The Netherlands wants and is able to play a central role in the circular raw materials roundabout of North-West Europe by 2035. This requires the development of strategic value chains for sustainable carbon and critical raw materials, so that industries can produce using renewable and recycled materials. The intended end goal is a competitive, climate-neutral and environmentally friendly industry that is less dependent on geopolitically vulnerable import flows and at the same time creates new revenue models, high-quality employment and labour productivity.

Innovation efforts focus on new pre-treatment steps, omnivorous reactors, electrified separation processes, AI-driven design and optimisation, and zero-liquid-discharge water circuits, among other things. In addition, initial work is being done on recycling routes for five critical raw materials and the use of alternative materials. This requires billions in investment in R&D, pilots, demos, industrial conversion and reconstruction, and upscaling of process technology aimed at market implementation, supported by public-private partnerships, smart regulation, and European anchoring.

The Action Agenda contributes to the creation of thousands of jobs in new value chains, stimulates economic growth through the export of technology and products, increases security of supply, strengthens our strategic relevance and makes a significant contribution to climate and environmental goals. In this way, the Netherlands will remain a leader in sustainable process technology for the chemical and food production industries, with a robust position in a rapidly changing world.

Download the full Action Agenda (Dutch) here

Innovation Programmes

This Action Agenda includes two Innovation Programmes and one in-depth Technology Programme, which together contribute to making the process industry more sustainable and strategically stronger. The programmes focus on the Sustainable Carbon Hub North-West Europe, Critical Raw Materials and the Smart Process Accelerator. The content of each programme is explained below.

Innovation Programme 1 | Sustainable Carbon Hub North-West Europe

The Innovation Programme Sustainable Carbon Hub focuses on establishing integrated value chains for circular and biogenic carbon in North-West Europe. The programme combines the conversion of existing petrochemicals with the development of new chemical and biochemical routes, so that fossil raw materials are replaced by renewable and recycled carbon streams. The programme's objectives include:

Realising technologies for pre-treatment, conversion, and post-treatment of heterogeneous carbon streams, including water purification and treatment
Scaling up electrification, process intensification, and AI-driven optimisation
Developing standardisation and system integration in clusters
Creating new value chains and products, including bioplastics, proteins and circular polymers

The programme thus contributes to a future-proof industry, robust earning capacity, climate neutrality, environmental objectives and circularity, while reducing geopolitical dependence.

Innovation Programme 2 | Critical Raw Materials

This programme focuses on developing and scaling up process technology for the recovery, refining, recycling and development of alternatives for critical raw materials, such as lithium, germanium, neodymium, vanadium and platinum group metals. These materials are essential for batteries, wind turbines, high-tech and defence, but are currently largely imported from geopolitically vulnerable regions. The Innovation Programme Critical Raw Materials therefore focuses on:

Developing technologies such as hydrometallurgy, crystallisation, ion exchange and AI-driven process optimisation
Reducing dependence on imports through circular chains and the development of alternative materials
Creating demonstration facilities and pilots to bring technologies to commercial scale

The programme increases strategic relevance and security of supply, reduces geopolitical risks and strengthens the Netherlands' earning capacity. It will generate hundreds of millions in investments, new economic activity and thousands of jobs. At the same time, it contributes to European climate and circularity goals through efficient recycling and closed water circuits. This positions the Netherlands as a knowledge-intensive hub for critical materials and process technology, with export potential and a robust role in European value chains.

Technological Deepening Programme 1 | Smart Process Accelerator

The Deepening Programme Smart Process Accelerator accelerates the development and application of process technology through digitisation, AI and smart design principles. The programme focuses on three pillars: design for cost, scale and circularity; digitisation and AI as a design engine; and upscaling and system integration. The aim is to optimise processes from the design phase onwards in terms of cost, energy and resource efficiency, and circularity. Within these three pillars, the programme focuses on:

Developing modular, standardised factory concepts for rapid upscaling
Applying AI, digital twins and predictive models for design, process optimisation and cluster integration
Realising zero-liquid-discharge water circuits and flexible, electrified processes
Creating open platforms for digital specifications and virtual standardisation.

This commitment shortens the time-to-market for new technologies, reduces costs and increases thermodynamic efficiency. The programme strengthens earning capacity through the export of digital design tools and modular factory concepts and contributes to climate goals through energy and raw material efficiency. At the same time, it makes the ecosystem attractive for investment and talent and positions the Netherlands as a leader in smart, digital process technology.

Participating organisations