Maastricht creates cross-border alliance

Nieuws | de redactie

16 december 2011 | By mid-2012, Maastricht University (Netherlands) and RWTH Aachen University (Germany) will set up researching facilities specialized in biobased materials. Goal is to create advanced materials that substitute less sustainable ones like plastics and other fossil based substances.

Maastricht University is to set up a cross-border alliance withRWTH Aachen University. With the ambition to significantly advancetechnology and production of biobased materials, the twouniversities will pool their technical capacities at the Chemelot Campusbased in Limburg.

Biobased polymer materials substitute fossil based products suchas plastics. Being made from living matter such as highly processedplant matter, they are more environmentally friendly and seen as acrucial step towards making material production more sustainablegiven depleting fossil resources.

Key research goals will be

1. the empowerment of natural plants to let them behave as a kindof a factory for the production of advanced biobased buildingblocks and macromolecules,
2. chemical transformation of such building blocks for higherfunctionality,
3. processing and compounding of biobased building blocks andpolymers into application driven materials
4. development of biobased, bioactive materials for clinical useincluding biodegradable scaffolds for applications in regenerativemedicine.

RWTH Aachen is particularly strong in molecular biology, plantbiotechnology, molecular and process engineering sciences andmedical technology, while Maastricht will be contributing itsexpertise in biology, computational sciences, biomaterials scienceand clinical operations. As talks have progressed significantlyalready, experts involved in this project expect it to be up andrunning by mid-2012.