€ 2.8 million for new company S4 GroNext in Eemshaven

Subsidy from Regional Investment Aid Groningen

S4 GroNext has been granted a subsidy of € 2.8 million for the investment in production facilities for a new factory in the Eemshaven. The new company will process unrecyclable plastic waste into gas. The chemical industry can then use this high-quality gas as a raw material. The site creates 28 new direct jobs. The subsidy is awarded by the Regional Investment Aid Groningen (RIG).

Supported by the subsidy, the company is building an installation to process the plastic waste into granules. Next, a chemical installation processes the granules into gas. Part of this gas is converted into electricity for own use. The chemical installation is combined with a so-called KINEXT unit. This innovative energy storage system will be used to stabilize the electricity grid in the Eemshaven, among other functionalities.

A KINEXT energy storage unit

Circular economy

IJzebrand Rijzebol, provincial executive of the province of Groningen: "The choice of S4 GroNext for the Eemshaven underlines our good business climate for industry. This makes S4 GroNext an important new link in the increasingly stronger chain of circularly operating companies in our port area."

According to Cas König, director of Groningen Seaports, this is "a beautiful innovative installation that combines the recycling of plastic with supporting the local electricity grid. The location of S4 GroNext on our site will have a magnetic effect."

Leo Visser, director of S4 GroNext: “We are proud that we can realize our plans in the Eemshaven. The intensive cooperation with Groningen Seaports and the province has led to our decision to establish our facility here."

The new company is being built on 5000 square meters on the Middenweg in the Eemshaven, with the option to expand another 5000 square meters. S4 GroNext is expected to be operational from mid-2021.

Aerial view of the Eemshaven in Groningen, the Netherlands

About the RIG

The objective of the RIG is to boost the business climate and employment for industrial companies in the Eemsdelta and on the Groningen Campus. In 2014, a total of € 40 million was made available for the implementation of the RIG by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Economic Board Groningen (EBG) and the province of Groningen from the Spatial Economic Program. € 12 million has been added from the Groningen National Program. The RIG is part of the EBG program and the provincial program Groningen@Work 2020-2023, which aims to strengthen the region economically and thereby help as many people from Groningen to work. The North Netherlands Partnership (SNN) manages the RIG on behalf of the province.