Circular Economy
Cleantech, short for ´clean technology´, is an important growth sector because it can offer an answer to important social challenges such as climate change and shortages of raw materials. Flanders is thus a trendsetter in materials management and an absolute leader in recycling. Flanders is number one in Europe, with 66% recycling of household waste.
One of the most important industrial suppliers and buyers for the waste processing companies is the chemical industry - which just happens to be the single largest industry in Antwerp. The chemical cluster in Antwerp is not only the second largest cluster in the world, it is also very highly integrated. Companies work together closely, including for the recovery of by-product flows.
Digital innovation
Antwerp is currently home to the fastest-growing ecosystem in digital innovation in Flanders, developing into an international reference in the fields of IoT and AI.
Over the past years the number of start-ups and scale-ups has doubled. Antwerp is currently home to more than 500 start-ups. These companies also create greater value. The amount of capital raised quadrupled over this period. Therefore, it is the City’s priority to allow these start-ups to develop into scale-ups. Within 5 years, the City wants to occupy a place in the European top 10 scale-up cities.