Pilot plant
The Bioprocess Pilot Facility (BPF) was opened last week on the DSM terrain in northern Delft. The BPF is a joint project between DSM, CSM/Purac and TU Delft.
The BPF allows researchers to scale up their production from laboratory to indus-trial scale. Although various parties may rent the facility for diverse bioprocesses, the first project to be mentioned is the fermentation of agricultural residues into (2nd generation) biofuels.
This week, DSM announced further investments in biotech innovation totalling 100 million euro over the next two years. In Delft, DSM will open a new Biotechnology Center accommodating 285 people. The lab will support biotechnological R&D from various DSM sectors such as food, pharma, chemicals and products. The DSM grounds in Delft will be transformed into a campus structure, open for biotech start-ups. DSM also invests in a new R&D building on the Chemelot campus in Sittard-Geleen for the development of new plastics and polymers for electronics and car industries. The photo shows a large fermentation vessel in BPF. (Photo: DSM)
Promising failure
None of the five finalists in Darpa’s spy&fly competition AUVForge has completed the mission, emails Sander Hulsman (Team Atmos) from Georgia. Atmos’ ‘transitional’ plane (it can both hover and fly on a wing) was unanimously regarded as a promising platform and its autonomous flight highly esteemed. However, more development is needed to meet the challenges. For instance, the autopilot routines are in need of refinement.
www.teamatmos.nl
delta.tudelft.nl/2514
Solar network
TU alumnus Marc Setzpfand will present his young professionals network for concentrated solar power ‘CYPE’ in The Hague next Friday, 1 June. CYPE aims both to connect young professionals interested in large scale solar energy and to prioritise CSP in economic and political forums.
www.cypeurope.org
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