Maastricht University is to set up a cross-border alliance with
RWTH Aachen University. With the ambition to significantly advance
technology and production of biobased materials, the two
universities will pool their technical capacities at the Chemelot Campus
based in Limburg.
Biobased polymer materials substitute fossil based products such
as plastics. Being made from living matter such as highly processed
plant matter, they are more environmentally friendly and seen as a
crucial step towards making material production more sustainable
given depleting fossil resources.
Key research goals will be
- the empowerment of natural plants to let them behave as a kind
of a factory for the production of advanced biobased building
blocks and macromolecules,
- chemical transformation of such building blocks for higher
functionality,
- processing and compounding of biobased building blocks and
polymers into application driven materials
- development of biobased, bioactive materials for clinical use
including biodegradable scaffolds for applications in regenerative
medicine.
RWTH Aachen is particularly strong in molecular biology, plant
biotechnology, molecular and process engineering sciences and
medical technology, while Maastricht will be contributing its
expertise in biology, computational sciences, biomaterials science
and clinical operations. As talks have progressed significantly
already, experts involved in this project expect it to be up and
running by mid-2012.