Vynckier in transition

The 'Vynckier' site in Ghent, located at the Ghent R40 - Nieuwevaart, is an industrial zone of 10 hectares at a unique location on the dynamic interface between city and port area. The site is easily accessible - barely 2 km from the city centre - but also close to the northern R4 and the port of Ghent with its many industrial production companies and international supply chains.

Revive and Anglo Belgian Corporation, in close consultation with the city of Ghent, wish to redevelop this site into a lively working environment. Here, an innovation ecosystem will take shape that builds solutions for major societal challenges in the field of energy transition and industry 4.0.

This open call is a first step in the further elaboration of a master plan for the entire Vynckier site. As the new owner of the site, Revive, together with ABC, is currently taking the lead in the redevelopment, calling upon extensive experience and expertise in redeveloping old industrial sites and shaping innovative ecosystems. Together with the architects of ORG - and in close consultation with the City of Ghent - ambitious plans are on the table to revive this iconic site, with respect for its rich heritage and past, ready for the future.

Are you, as a company, interested in this redevelopment? Would you like to be kept informed or do you see your company being part of this? Then leave your details below:

I AM INTERESTED

OUR GOAL

Position the Vynckier site in relation to the city, port and wider region as a forerunner in energy transition and the transformation of industry.

Redevelop the Vynckier site as a production site into innovative, creative manufacturing and future proof production.

Stimulate open innovation partnerships and interaction between the companies on the site and between the wider economic activities in Ghent and Flanders by offering an attractive and lively site that inspires and facilitates collaborations.

Creating a living lab: a place where technology can be validated and scaled up by sharing infrastructure such as state-of-the-art production machines, R&D facilities, labs and studios, smart grids and energy infrastructure.

Training and attracting local and international technical talent: pupils and students in the form of dual learning in cooperation with companies on the site.

business opportunities

An initial market study and ecosystem scan in the Ghent region show great technological and economic opportunities and synergies for:
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Energy transition
CLIMATE TECH

Climate change is forcing us to think and deal differently with energy. Energy transition is an important part of this. The search for a transition, in which the energy supply must be provided in a structurally different way in terms of nature and form than within the current energy system, is pressing. Within this transition it is being investigated how fossil fuel is largely replaced by sustainable energy sources, a great deal of attention is being paid to energy saving and energy storage, and the energy supply is organised more decentralized.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR ...

manufacturing industry
industry 4.0

Essentially, we also want to focus on manufacturing. Transforming raw materials into new products that match the ecosystem. Furthermore, industry 4.0 also includes companies that focus on circular economy, industrial manufacturing techniques, cradle-to-cradle production, environmental technology, IoT and systems that can take over part or all of our thinking process.

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WE ARE LOOKING FOR ...

WHO DO WE NEED?

To make use of these opportunities, we are looking for ambitious and complementary partners: large and small companies that want to produce on the site and set up R&D activities and collaborations. We provide scalable and modular infrastructure that can grow with companies at every stage of development: from start-up to scale-up to established global player. For this we are also looking for the support of:

Educational, knowledge and labour market institutions (from secondary education to universities, sector organisations and private training actors) that want to train talent on the site through dual learning and lead to the industrial jobs of the future.
Incubators and accelerators, capital providers, member organisations and support services (such as MICE and hospitality, services for employees, ...) that support the ecosystem and liveliness of the campus.
Utility companies, engineering firms and industrial designers who can help shape the infrastructure on the site.

I AM INTERESTED

THE partners

Revive is a forerunner and market leader in complex urban renewal projects. We transform brownfields into future-proof, carbon-free and connected development plans. As the new owner, Revive wants to give the iconic Vynckier site a new future. The distinctive Manchester buildings, each about 25,000m² of industrial heritage, are a reminder of the pioneering role Ghent played in the Industrial Revolutions of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now that the global economy is at a tipping point, this site can once again be a pioneer, with "Modern Manchesters": circular and modular, switchable and scalable factories of the future. This makes the site a home for the new "clean, lean & green" Industrial Revolution. Want to know more about Revive? Go to www.revive.be

Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) is a leading European manufacturer of innovative 1 to 10 MW industrial combustion engines for ships, locomotives, power plants and emergency groups. The ABC engines run on diesel, dual-fuel, biofuels, methanol and even hydrogen. ABC has been developing, producing and selling from Ghent since 1912, at its site on the Wiedauwkaai which borders to the north on the Vynckier site. In the past 100 years ABC has shown vision, innovation and strong export-driven growth. ABC will take over the northern part of the site from Revive in order to further expand its activities in Ghent, and will join forces with Revive to completely redevelop the site into a lively campus dedicated to industry 4.0 and energy transition. Would you like to know more about ABC? Then visit www.abc-engines.com

Vynckier is in transitiON