INNOVATEā„¢ Antwerp Vol.2

Innovations of the World

INNOVATEā„¢ Antwerp Vol.2

Antwerp Volume 2: Discovering the ecosystems of the entire province

Following on the recent success of INNOVATEā„¢ Antwerp Volume 1, we published the second volume, focusing on the entire region of Antwerp.

Where the first edition focused on the innovators and innovation enablers defining the City of Antwerp, the second edition focuses on the vibrant province of Antwerp. This region is recognized globally as an innovation hub and a European pole of growth and is well known for its rich tapestry of historical cities, thriving industries, and entrepreneurial spirit. We look forward to showcasing the thought leaders and companies that make this region so special.

Fast growing start-ups

Antwerp residents are digital entrepreneurs. The city is an international reference in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). With the regularity of the clock, start-ups are born. These, in turn, grow into scale-ups. Some figures? In 2020 Antwerp had around 500 start-ups or scale-ups.

These innovative companies raised an enormous amount of capital in 2020: 200 million euros, an increase of 50% compared to 2018.

From port sectors to e-health

Antwerp is the second largest port in Europe. A port, that means different industries coming together. With numerous partners, the city works on innovation in typical port sectors such as industry, logistics and safety. Moreover, it also thinks about its citizens. Antwerp also innovates on mobility and health. With the website www.slimnaarantwerpen.be and the ā€˜Smart Highways’ project, it provides better transport for both citizens and entrepreneurs. Digital innovation is also helping to develop the major infrastructure project ā€˜The Major Connection’. And the BlueHealth Innovation Center (BHIC) is responsible for digital progress in the health sector.

The Beacon

The Beacon is Antwerp’s anchor point for digital innovation. Start-ups, scale-ups, researchers and technology companies: they are all housed in the 10-storey building on Sint-Pietersvliet. They are working on innovative cross-fertilisation in the fields of industry, logistics and smart cities.

The Beacon now has 37 residents, including the founders imec, Lantis and the University of Antwerp. Most of them are specialists in cutting-edge technology, especially in artificial intelligence (AI) or the Internet of Things (IoT). The Beacon community consists of more than 80 members, who are brought together in various ways to work on solutions for the city, port and industry of the future.  That network – The Beacon Community – is still growing every day.

Leader in sustainable innovation

Antwerp stands for innovation. Digital, but also sustainable innovation. Of every 3 companies that focus on clean technology in Flanders, one is based in Antwerp. Above all, the city is a leader in sustainable chemistry. Local government, research institutes and large chemical companies work closely together on sustainable innovation. Their results are echoed worldwide.

From the treatment of raw materials to waste treatment

Antwerp masters chemistry down to the finest atoms. Technical contractors, specialists in process optimisation, safety companies: everything is in place so that chemical companies can process their raw materials into finished products. And even then it doesn’t stop. Because the companies in the port of Antwerp have also built up years of expertise in waste processing. The sustainable waste management company Indaver grew from Antwerp company to European multinational. Moreover, Antwerp is a pioneer in hydrogen technology. And another fascinating project: the turbine of the Kallo lock extracts all its energy from the water. A pilot project that is followed closely by the whole world.

BlueChem and BlueApp

To the south of Antwerp lies the Blue Gate Antwerp, a site exclusively for eco-effective businesses. There you’ll find BlueChem, an incubator for start-ups working on sustainable innovations in chemistry. BlueChem also helps them to develop that technology on an industrial scale.

Through the BlueChem Kickstart Fund, the city of Antwerp also gives a grant to companies that rent lab space in BlueChem. The University of Antwerp is also present at Blue Gate Antwerp. Together with industrial partners, they set up BlueApp. They invest in applied research into sustainable (bio)chemical processes.

Creativity as a raw material

Creativity is in Antwerp’s DNA. Antwerp also enjoys a longstanding reputation as a design centre. From the most progressive artists and cultural entrepreneurs of the 16th century to the avant-garde fashion designers and other creative businesses of today. 1 in 10 Antwerp businesses have creativity as their raw material. The city is the ideal breeding ground for creative businesses to flourish and grow internationally.

Creative industry

Creative industry: when it comes to Antwerp, those two words fit together perfectly. The atmosphere of innovation stimulates creative companies to redesign their products. To reinvent themselves time and again. An attitude that benefits the entire economy. This creative vision is also reflected in Antwerp’s fashion and jewellery designers. With the Antwerp Six in your 80s, with every new fashion direction at the Antwerp Academy, and with the talented jewellery designers that Antwerp has to offer.

Creative networks and festivals

Antwerp as a matchmaker. The platform ANTWERP. POWERED BY CREATIVES (APBC) connects the creative industry with other sectors. APBC motivates creative entrepreneurs to innovate and grow. The same entrepreneurs you might come across on Us by Night. This is one of the many Antwerp networking events that link creativity to digital entrepreneurship. Us by Night attracts artists from all over the world. The city of Antwerp is investigating the possibilities of connecting talented fashion designers and companies in a fashion hub. With partners such as the Fashion Academy and MoMu, the Fashion Hub fits this city like a glove.

The world of media and entertainment is also looking more and more in the direction of Antwerp. A large number of media companies and their investors have their headquarters here. The city is developing the Mediaplein near the Central Station in order to boost its ambition even further.

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Innovators

Featured Innovators

BLUE & WHITE

BLUE & WHITE- TRAINING THE BLUE AND WHITE COLLARS IN ORGANIZATIONS TO ESTABLISH A SUSTAINABLE SAFETY CULTURE

TRAINING THE BLUE AND WHITE COLLARS IN ORGANIZATIONS TO ESTABLISH A SUSTAINABLE SAFETY CULTURE

Do you work in construction, transport or logistics, or are you a manager or manager in one of these sectors? Then safety training has no secrets for you. From transport and logistics training to health training, from road codes and freight documents to training with rolling bridges, excavators and fire...

3D CADWORKS

3D CADWORKS-TOP-SHELF INNOVATION

TOP-SHELF INNOVATION

OUR GOAL Our goal is helping companies to solve their mechanical challenges. Our innovation culture, eye for detail and focus on quality is what attracts customers such as Total, CNH, DEME, ArcelorMittal or Pfizer. From the moment a customer submits a problem to us, he feels the eagerness of our...

Q-LITE

Q-LITE -THE SMARTEST KIND OF ATTENTION

THE SMARTEST KIND OF ATTENTION

Q-lite is specialised in designing, producing and maintaining digital information systems and the accompanying software. Their wide product range includes pharmacy crosses, the zone-30 traffic signs that slow you down, the digital scoreboard of your favourite football team, transparent LED screens and parking guidance systems for cars and bicycles from...

TEXTUP COPYWRITING

TEXTUP COPYWRITING: Lifting Your Technical Content To A Higher Level

Lifting Your Technical Content To A Higher Level

Copywriters come in all sizes, colours and weights. A technical copywriter that adheres to the principles of SEO is like searching for a needle in a haystack.   TextUp Copywriting specialises in writing technical SEO copy and content revision. TECHNICAL COPYWRITINGLetting the world know about your business isn’t that hard....

VLAAMSE REGERING

VLAAMSE REGERING-INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO CREATING GROWTH AND VALUE

INNOVATION IS THE KEY TO CREATING GROWTH AND VALUE

One of the most inspiring stories in Greek mythology tells how Prometheus, ā€˜the visionary’, out of love for mankind, stole the fire from the Olympian gods and gave it to mankind. From that day on, the rise of human genius and technological progress was unstoppable. The human ability to bring...

GORILLA MARKETING

THE TIMECHAMBER

With their fresh, innovative ideas they already proved themselves worthy as a marketing agency, helping dozens of companies defining their position in the market and upping their (digital) game....

SAM

SAM-SENSORY-FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

SENSORY - FRIENDLY CLOTHING THAT LOWERS STRESS

Every day we experience an overload of sensory stimuli: we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste a lot. Whenever our brain has a hard time filtering and processing all those stimuli, this can lead to overstimulation. Children who are highly sensitive, have ASD, ADHD, mental limitations, or brain injuries are...

START IT @KBC

START IT @KBC-OPENING DOORS FOR INNOVATION

OPENING DOORS FOR INNOVATION

Start it @KBC is a unique no-strings-attached startup accelerator supporting and promoting innovative and scalable entrepreneurship. As the largest startup ecosystem in Belgium representing around 1,000 coached startups, this rapidly growing community offers access to vast expertise, an enormous global network and state-of-the art work spaces. A unique proposition Start...

KU LEUVEN

KU LEUVEN-INNOVATION PARTNER PAR EXCELLENCE IN THE MECHELEN-KEMPEN REGION

INNOVATION PARTNER PAR EXCELLENCE IN THE MECHELEN-KEMPEN REGION

The Geel and De Nayer (Sint-Katelijne-Waver) campuses are part of the Faculty of Engineering Technology at KU Leuven. Here, high-quality education and research go hand-in-hand: not only do these campuses train passionate engineers, they also offer many opportunities for companies that want to innovate. Our campuses play an active role...

CREATIVEYEWORKS

CREATIVEYEWORKS- HAVING THE GREATEST POSSIBLE SOCIAL IMPACT AND CREATING A REALISTIC SOCIAL

HAVING THE GREATEST POSSIBLE SOCIAL IMPACT AND CREATING A REALISTIC SOCIAL, CIRCULARECONOMIC SELF-SUSTAINING SYSTEM. THIS IS THE MISSION OF THE CREATIVEYEWORKS PROJECT. THE PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE A GREAT ADDED VALUE THAT FLOWS COMPLETELY BACK TO SOCIETY

I am Koen Van Pottelbergh and due to a serious accident where I lost half of my sight, my view on life changed drastically. That is why I created the concept ā€œCreativEyeworksā€. Because everyone in the world has the right to see well, and to take all opportunities life has...

BEDENK

BEDENK - INNOVATE FROM WITHIN LET YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME THE ENGINE OF INNOVATION

INNOVATE FROM WITHIN LET YOUR EMPLOYEES BECOME THE ENGINE OF INNOVATION

Why?The world around us is changing ever faster. At the same time innovation is no longer just about products or technology. It’s also about services, internal structure and processes, business models, and customer experience… Every aspect of how you do business, must be scrutinized.   Organizations have to keep up...

PORT OF ANTWERP-BRUGES

PORT OF ANTWERP-BRUGES- BUILDING THE PORT OF THE FUTURE

BUILDING THE PORT OF THE FUTURE

Major challenges on energy transition, climate, mobility, and digital transformation are ahead of us and are closely linked to the activities of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, being the 2nd largest port in Europe and the 2nd largest integrated chemical cluster in the world. The recent merger between the ports of Antwerp...

THE ECOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEUR

THE ECOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEUR- THE PATHWAY TO YOUR CLIMATE NEUTRAL BUSINESS

THE PATHWAY TO YOUR CLIMATE NEUTRAL BUSINESS

The ā€œWhyā€ of sustainability is clear for most, the ā€œhowā€ and ā€œwhatā€, unfortunately much less. For many, sustainability remains an utterly vague, complex, and confusing concept. And even without confusion, questions concerning usefulness of actions and impact arise.   The Ecological Entrepreneur translates complexity to concrete guidelines, policies, and activities...

THOMAS MORE

THOMAS MORE-From Idea To Ecosystem

From Idea To Ecosystem

IN THE HEALTH SECTOR AT THOMAS MORE: We stimulate & support innovation For years, Research @Thomas More has been actively working on innovation in the health and welfare sector with its research groups Mobilab & Care and CEBUD, and the living lab research by LiCalab. We are the driving force...

VITO

VITO-VISION ON TECHNOLOGY FOR A BETTER WORLD

VISION ON TECHNOLOGY FOR A BETTER WORLD

VITO is a leading international research centre. We focus on applied research and advice, bridging the gap between fundamental research and the industry.   We accelerate the transition to a sustainable world; we provide knowledge and technological innovations that facilitate this transition to a more sustainable society. We de-risk innovation...

NOBI

NOBI -FUTURE-ORIENTED SMART LAMP ā€˜NOBI’ HELPS ELDERLY CARE TO PREPARE FOR THE SILVER TSUNAMI

FUTURE-ORIENTED SMART LAMP ā€˜NOBI’ HELPS ELDERLY CARE TO PREPARE FOR THE SILVER TSUNAMI

Meet NobiAn Antwerp scale-up known for its AI-driven smart lamps, used for fall detection, fall prevention and lifestyle monitoring. When founding their company, Roeland Pelgrims, Stijn Verrept and Bert De Haes believed that everyone on this planet deserves to grow old in a dignified, safe and happy manner. Pretty ambitious...

DE SATELLIET OF DE MAANWANDELAARS IN BOECHOUT

DE SATELLIET OF DE MAANWANDELAARS IN BOECHOUT- WHERE DIVIDING UNITES

WHERE DIVIDING UNITES

De Maanwandelaars are well known for offering housing solutions and meaningful daytime activities for adults with medium or severe mental disabilities. With five locations in the southern outskirts of Antwerp, they consciously opt for warm small scale and flexibility. This forms a favorable framework for offering people maximum participation in...

ULTRAZONIC

ULTRAZONIC- MEDICAL SCOOP TACKLES CURRENT CONTAMINATION WOES

MEDICAL SCOOP TACKLES CURRENT CONTAMINATION WOES

UltraZonic has received a true (medical) world premiere. This Belgian company, specialized in innovative medical cleaning devices, has developed the first semi-automatic pre-cleaner for flexible endoscopes. Not the biggest luxury invention, knowing that endoscopes are popular hotbeds for several bacteria. ā€œDue to great time pressure, staff often miss important cleaning...

DOMEIN WALTERUS, VINEYARD, WINERY, DISTILLERY

DOMEIN WALTERUS

FILLED WITH PURITY, MADE WITH PASSION.ā€

Your drinks, our life’s work with an eco-conscious mindsetOur vision in making drinks for you. Whether it’s our own label or your private label. We work for every brand as if it were our own. Working with respect of nature’s products, makes us enthusiastic and driven to make your label...

JANSSEN IN BELGIUM

Creating A Future Where Disease Is A Thing Of The Past

At Janssen, we never stop creating a future where disease is a thing of the past....

PFL

PERSISTS IN BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE!

innovationsoftheworld.com

...

HERAN PARTNERS & THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

HERAN PARTNERS & THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE -HERAN PARTNERS WAS LAUNCHED IN 2020 WITH THE MISSION TO INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE BY FOCUSSING ON DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION ON THE VERGE OF LIFE SCIENCES AND DATA

HERAN PARTNERS WAS LAUNCHED IN 2020 WITH THE MISSION TO INVEST IN THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE BY FOCUSSING ON DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION ON THE VERGE OF LIFE SCIENCES AND DATA

HERAN empowered and took the investment experience and track record of its founders into the future. As an investment firm active in the Venture Capital space, HERAN aims to fuel growth of innovative technologies by supporting start-ups & scale-ups. HERAN’s sole focus lies within the healthcare market with investments ranging...

IBEVE

IBEVE BETTER MEASUREMENT FOR BETTER PREVENTION – HOW IBEVE REINFORCES ITS MISSION THROUGH INNOVATION

BETTER MEASUREMENT FOR BETTER PREVENTION – HOW IBEVE REINFORCES ITS MISSION THROUGH INNOVATION

Thanks to our Scanning Electron Microscope and the Nano Harmony Project, we will be able to advise companies even more effectively on healthy working environments. To measure is to know – a law that applies to IBEVE’s objectives more than most. As a consultancy firm, it specialises in providing advice...

INEOS

INEOS-POWER TO METHANOL

POWER TO METHANOL, FUTUREPROOF INNOVATION IN FUEL AND FEEDSTOCK

In 2022 the construction of the Power to Methanol Antwerp plant starts in the Port of Antwerp. The plant has a production capacity of 8,000 tonnes of sustainable methanol, produced from hydrogen generated from renewable energy and captured CO2. A consortium of seven companies is setting up the pilot plant...

Load More

The Publisher

Freddy Arnauts

International networking was a logical result of my profession during my long career mainly in the Pharma and Medical World. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to start B19 Antwerp, a selective business club in this city, allowing me to get in touch with many visionary enablers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and other key opinion... click to read more

The Publisher

Freddy Arnauts

International networking was a logical result of my profession during my long career mainly in the Pharma and Medical World. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to start B19 Antwerp, a selective business club in this city, allowing me to get in touch with many visionary enablers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and other key opinion... click to read more

Other Ecosystems