First project Campus Community Fund to start this year

A week ago, the Campus ecosysteem presented the ‘Campus Community Fund’ of € 500 million to further develop Campus Groningen. The first project that will set the fund into action has become known: the development of the Innovation Center Chemistry & Engineering on the Zernike Campus Groningen. The contracts have been signed by Triade, Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma and ITBB on Monday 7 September. The construction of the new Innovation Center will start October this year, the completion is planned towards the end of 2021. With the center of 5.000m2, the themes Chemistry and Engineering, strong in the Northern Netherlands, are facilitated in their further development. 

The innovation center offers room for several innovative and research-oriented companies: MercachemSyncom, Cliq Swiss, DEMCON and Ducom. It also offers a space for startups and R&D by the presence of two open innovation labs on the premises: Innolab Chemistry and Innolab Engineering. The companies do research in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and in the field of engineering . Each company gets its own laboratory and research center in the new innovation center. Triade Real Estate is an important developer and investor in the new initiative on and of Campus Groningen.

Annet de Vree, development manager Real Estate at Triade explains with pride: “We facilitate with this building very specifically the continued growth of these innovative companies. They have already proven that they are of great worth to the ecosystem, and we are sure of it that this effect will become even bigger, especially in combination with the innovation labs in the building."

High-quality new construction

Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma and ITBB have received the task to further develop and implement the architectural plans of CODEX and to Architectuurstudio. On Monday 7 September, the contract signing between Triade, Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma and ITBB. The building permit has been granted. The construction work will start October of this year. According to the planning, the building will be ready for its tenants by the end of 2021. 

The building measures ca. 5.000 m2 high-quality new construction in total. The building is gas-free of course and very sustainable in design. This is among other elements, due to the uses of air-sourced heat pumps, PV panels and a high grade climate shell.

Golden collaboration

By building the innovation center with innolabs, Groningen and the Campus become even more interesting to invest in the field of agri-food, energy, health, chemistry and digital economy. The development of Campus Groningen and the presence of the innovation center on location Zernike Campus, is a golden collaboration between authorities, knowledge institutions and entrepreneurs. 

About Campus Groningen

The Campus is an ecosystem with the locations Zernike Campus and Healthy Ageing Campus, where a.o. the UMCG, the University of Groningen, the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the municipality and the province of Groningen collaborate and share knowledge. More than 200 companies and three knowledge institutions generate over  22.000 jobs.

Photo header: left to right Dirk Jan de Rouwe (Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma), Biense Dijkstra (Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma), Edward van der Meer (Triade), Annet de Vree (Triade), Jelle Boorsma (ITBB), Gerhard van der Zee (ITBB)