The materials of tomorrow grow on land

A meeting place for innovators

Hoeve Nieuw Zwanenburg was originally purchased by Rijkswaterstaat to enable the widening of the A58 motorway. It is now available as a living lab for circular innovations, starting with the cultivation of raw materials.

Designers, governments, educational institutions, and entrepreneurs work together on innovations here. During Dutch Design Week, the farm became a meeting place for innovators.

Crops as raw materials

The living lab supports planning studies with knowledge on circular working. ‘In our field lab, we’ve been growing fiber crops like hemp and sunray since 2024. We aim to use these as raw materials in construction, road building, and hydraulic engineering,’ says Hans Eenhoorn.

‘We cultivate these crops on 10 hectares of farmland at the farm to investigate which biobased crops are suitable for our infrastructure. A great example in Germany is a bridge made of flax and resin.’

Fiber-based road furniture

The biobased materials are grown near the InnovA58 test site. At this location, Rijkswaterstaat and market parties are investigating various road innovations, including biobased road furniture. ProRail, a project partner, is also testing noise barriers, one of which incorporates plant fibers.

Eenhoorn explains, ‘Our team focuses on 6 program lines within the sector of construction, road building, and hydraulic engineering: geotextiles, bank protection, concrete, asphalt, civil structures, and bridges. The harvest of 2024 allows us to experiment with these applications.’

Reducing dependency on foreign suppliers

At Hoeve Nieuw Zwanenburg, Rijkswaterstaat emphasizes materials for the sector of construction, road building, and hydraulic engineering. A secondary benefit could be that these crops provide farmers with a new revenue model if they also restore soil quality or sequester CO₂.

Eenhoorn highlights the strategic advantages: ‘If we grow our own raw materials, we become less dependent on foreign suppliers. Geopolitical issues increasingly cause supply problems.’

Local expertise

The first test crops were sown in 2024 by local farmers Ad and Theo, who both operate farms in the area. Their expertise in farming and local conditions is invaluable. 2024, perennial fiber crops like elephant grass and sunray were planted, which can be harvested for decades.

According to Eenhoorn, elephant grass improves soil quality and also sequesters CO₂. Additionally, a few hectares were planted with annual fiber hemp.

Noise barriers from harvested fibers

Practical lessons help shape the next sowing plans. One challenge is reducing weed control to zero in the first year without affecting crop quality. ‘We highly value the traditional knowledge of farmers for solving such issues,’ says Eenhoorn.

Monitoring is a critical part of the process to ensure future improvements. He also emphasizes the importance of internal collaboration within Rijkswaterstaat's knowledge departments.

A bridge of flax and resin

Eenhoorn sees opportunities in combining fibers and wood with concrete and steel for future projects. ‘The 'wet' parts of a bridge can be made from concrete, while wood can be used in the parts that remain dry, saving on concrete use.’ TU Eindhoven has extensive practical knowledge in this area.

Faas Moonen from TU Eindhoven actively brings this expertise to Nieuw Zwanenburg as a project leader. A noteworthy development he mentions is a bridge in Germany constructed with flax and resin. ‘We learn from the successes of others.’

Reducing environmental impact

Building with lower emissions could reduce the environmental impact of infrastructure in the future, Eenhoorn explains. ‘Ideally, a project would have such minimal environmental effects that it can easily transition to the implementation phase. Using local biobased materials contributes by sequestering CO₂ and reducing nitrogen emissions.’