Province earmarks €75 million to strengthen Chemelot’s competitiveness

The Province of Limburg intends to earmark €75 million to stimulate investments that strengthen Chemelot’s competitiveness and resilience.

Through a dedicated reserve to support the Chemelot Cluster Plan, the Province aims to enable or accelerate private-sector investments at Chemelot. The Chemelot Cluster Plan, entitled “Strategic Autonomy through Circular Chemistry”, envisages private investments totalling €1.6 to €1.7 billion.

Chemelot faces the challenge of maintaining and strengthening its position in a changing international market. Investments are needed for future-proof production and business activities at the cluster and to safeguard strategically important manufacturing activities in The Netherlands. Among other things, the Cluster Plan links this economic objective to the use of circular and renewable materials and the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

Projects included in the Chemelot Cluster Plan that qualify for provincial support will focus, among other things, on strengthening the competitive position, safeguarding strategically important raw materials production and increasing Chemelot’s resilience.

Projects that contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions and increasing the use of circular and renewable materials may also qualify. The provincial contribution is intended for projects for which insufficient funding is available from private investors, existing funds or general funding schemes.

The proposal for the dedicated reserve to support the Chemelot Cluster Plan is based on the assumption that the national government will provide a comparable contribution. However, a specific national government contribution for tailored support to the cluster has not yet been confirmed.

The national government is already supporting Chemelot through existing funding schemes. The Minister and State Secretary for Climate Policy and Green Growth have previously indicated that the Cluster Plan could strengthen Chemelot’s competitiveness and contribute to economic activity, employment and the strategic independence of The Netherlands.

According to them, the plan’s ambitions are aligned with those of the Dutch government.

The dedicated reserve will remain in place until 31 December 2028. Each project will be assessed individually on criteria including feasibility, wider societal benefits, funding requirements, the company’s own financial contribution and legal eligibility. The appropriate financial instrument, such as a loan or grant, will also be determined for each project.

Total provincial contributions to projects will amount to a maximum of €75 million, of which no more than €20 million will be allocated in grants. Wherever possible, the Province intends to use the funds on a revolving basis, allowing contributions to be repaid and the funds to be reused.

The Provincial Executive will report annually to the Provincial Council on how the funds have been used, on the associated risks and the results achieved.

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