BASF and AkzoNobel are just two of the members that make up the Dutch Consortium which plans to invest $11m a year into addressing the issue of sustainable demand for energy and materials in the future.

As urbanisation increases and the global population is expected to reach 9bn by 2050, the Advanced Research Centre Chemical Building Blocks Consortium (ARC CBBC) intends to invest the money in a national research centre to tackle the growing problem.

The research centre will also create around 100 job opportunities.

Akzonobel said, “With the global population expected to rise to 9bn by 2050, a growing burden is being placed on the supply of raw materials such as oils and metals.
“This will constitute a challenge for sustainability and for the quality of life in urban areas, where an estimated 70 per cent of the world population will live.”

The news comes in the wake of the European Commission last week publishing plans for an EU Circular Economy, which had a focus on plastic packaging waste and recycling targets for glass packaging of 75 per cent by 2030.

“The consortium will work together to develop new chemical processes and building blocks in an effort to find sustainable alternatives that will contribute to the transition towards a circular economy,” the company continued.

Price drivers that are said to push up the cost of end products include oil and energy prices, construction demand, metals and base chemical prices.