Research institutes
Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials
The Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) is a European, cross-border, research institute focusing on the development of advanced biobased materials. AMIBM designs, creates and translates biobased molecules, processes and materials into applications that outperform in functionality and sustainability for better living.
AMIBM is located in the Netherlands on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Dutch Province of Limburg and has a branch office in Germany, and conducts innovative fundamental, applied and translational research by creating synergies between academia and industry.
Fast facts
- AMIBM designs, creates and translates biobased molecules, processes and materials into applications
- Cooperation of Maastricht University with RWTH Aachen University and Fraunhofer IME
- Uniting academia and industry at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus
- Focus on material functionality and sustainability for better living
Vision and mission
The AMIBM vision is to provide the missing links between fundamental, applied and translational research in the field of biobased materials, by changing the relationship between the production of biobased materials and the value chain. This will be achieved by developing an integrated, interdisciplinary research program focusing on novel strategies to produce advanced biobased materials and chemical building blocks in a sustainable and economical manner, and to develop these novel materials into innovative products for technical and medical applications.
AMIBM has a clear mission statement: 'to design, create and translate biobased molecules, processes and materials into applications that outperform in functionality and sustainability for better living':
- To meet the need of biobased materials producing and using industries (SME and large industries)
- To fulfil the obligations of the direct stakeholders (Province of Limburg, UM, RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer IME)
- To take our responsibility for the society (legislators, students, scientific and public community)
The AMIBM-way to accomplish the mission is that:
- We offer biobased innovations and solutions by creating outstanding cross border teams and synergistic core competences and infrastructure
- We are committed to strive for excellence and building critical mass together with our customers along the value chain
In its research offered by transdisciplinary competence teams facilitated by state-of-the-art research infrastructure, AMIBM strengthens every step in the value chain from biobased molecules, processes and materials into applications as well as the value chain as a whole by developing a common language and methodology between all experts from biotechnology, polymer chemistry and physics, material science and engineering, fibre and medical technology, and sustainability.
A Brightlands institute
Brightlands is an open innovation community in a global context, connecting four campuses in the province of Limburg: in Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen and Venlo. The campuses provide entrepreneurs, scientists and students state-of-the-art facilities to support development, education, innovation and growth. Naturally, there are close links between all four Brightlands campuses, and together they enable Limburg to serve as an innovation region where researchers and entrepreneurs take on the major challenges in the areas of materials, health, food and smart services.
News
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CARBIOW project will help Europe to take the lead in energy and transport sector decarbonization
Monday, November 14, 2022Read moreAn extraordinary multidisciplinary and multinational team will work together the next 42 months developing innovative and sustainable processes to produce biofuels from organic waste with negative emissions
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Nitroshrimp: From shrimp waste to biobased fertilizers
Friday, July 8, 2022Read moreA team of UM students from the Biobased Materials Masters, Business Engineering, Bachelors and Maastricht Science Program Bachelors was awarded 2nd place in the Netherlands’s national phase of Biobased Innovation Student Challenge Europe (BISC-E) Competition 2022.
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Marco Serafini winner of Menno Knetsch Thesis Award 2022
Friday, July 8, 2022Read moreThe Menno Knetsch Award 2022 has been awarded to MSc Biobased Materials graduate Marco Serafini. His winning thesis was about ‘Sustainability assessment of biobased colourants for packaging applications.’
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Yvonne van der Meer new president KNCV
Monday, June 27, 2022At the Annual General Meeting (ALV) on June 21, 2022, Prof. Yvonne van der Meer was appointed President of the Royal Dutch Chemical Society.
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Sustainability of composite materials in the EMR region
Friday, June 3, 2022This thematic was highlighted at the AACOMA Roadshow RS4 the 10 May 2022, hosted by the partner AMIBM at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen (NL).
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In the bio-economy, circularity goes further than just recycling
Tuesday, May 24, 2022Plastics, made from plants? The bio-based economy makes it possible. It is the field of study of Yvonne van der Meer, professor of Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials.
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Prof. Yvonne van der Meer newly appointed as one of the 15 Members of the CBE JU’s Scientific Committee
Wednesday, April 20, 2022The Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) is a €2 billion partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) that funds projects advancing competitive circular bio-based industries in Europe.
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MERLN-AMIBM collaboration paper winner of JMR Paper of the Year Award
Monday, March 14, 2022A paper on thermoplastic scaffolds in tissue regeneration, resulting from an inter-faculty collaboration with Prof. Jules Harings of the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) and members of Lorenzo Moroni's group, has won the Gordon E. Pike Prize for the JMR Paper of the Year.
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When you are in the middle of it, you don't just quit
Friday, February 25, 2022Simon Schick (27) a PhD Candidate at Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM). He lives together with his fiancé in Dusseldorf. Simon is currently working on the Marie Sklodowska-Curie BioBased Value Circle Project.
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“How sustainable is it? That is the question”
Friday, December 3, 2021Professor Yvonne van der Meer is investigating how companies can improve the sustainability of their products. She analyses every material, exposing the lifecycle in its entirety.
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Yvonne van der Meer talks about sustainability
Thursday, September 30, 2021How to make the most sustainable product choice
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Rethinking Plastic House
Monday, September 20, 2021AMIBM part of 'Rethinking Plastic House' to raise awareness for sustainable plastics.
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Matilde della Fontana winner of Menno Knetsch Thesis Award 2021
Thursday, July 22, 2021The Menno Knetsch Award 2021 has been awarded to MSc Biobased Materials graduate Matilde della Fontana. Matilde completed her thesis at the sustainability group of the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Yvonne van der Meer.
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AMIBM researcher participates in a panel discussion with two Nobel laureates
Tuesday, July 13, 2021Julia Jansing took part in a fascinating panel discussion on gene editing with two Nobel laureates and the chair of the German Ethics Council.
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Expert: Jules Harings Universitair Hoofddocent en groepshoofd AMIBM
Monday, June 28, 2021Jules Harings vond na zijn promotie een goede baan in de industrie. Toch aarzelde hij geen moment toen hij zo’n acht jaar geleden werd gevraagd om mee te werken aan het opstarten van ’natural science’ activiteiten aan de Universiteit Maastricht.
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A new life for eggshells
Friday, June 4, 2021At EGGXPERT, a local startup, two waste products from eggs are put to use in the production of facial masks and wound plasters. Co-founder Chang Liu was one of the first graduates of the master’s in Biobased Materials at the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
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Mask certification via new lab at UM institute AMIBM
Tuesday, December 15, 2020 Read more -
Curcuma: from cultivation to biobased colorant
Wednesday, November 18, 2020Did you know that we produce about 87 million tons of packaging waste per year in Europe? The good news is that a part of this is biobased packaging that is recyclable or biodegradable.
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Groundbreaking research project AMIBM starts in fourth package NWO Open Competition - XS
Wednesday, September 23, 2020Maastricht University researcher, Jordy Saya, working at AMIBM is one of the 24 lucky ones whose research project 'Learning from Nature to Synthesize Peptides and Proteins' was honored by NWO.
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AMIBM: University collaboration at Brightlands
Thursday, September 17, 2020Eighty years ago, DSM opened its central laboratory for fundamental research in Geleen. Now the old lab is part of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus. This coming fall, the Festival Feel the Chemistry will look back on eighty years of innovation and will also look ahead to the future. Maastricht University is one of the founders of the campus and is closely involved in the developments. It’s at the heart of the campus, as is the Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials.
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Events
Romano Orrù
“The beauty of nature lies in both her complexity and in her simplicity. This inspires to develop truly 'green' and resource efficient chemical syntheses and production of molecules and materials to sustain the future of our planet and society”
Jules Harings
"Only if one understands polymeric material functionalities down to morphological, structural and ultimately molecular length-scales, the added technical functionality of biobased molecules is recognised."
Andrij Pich
"Molecular design and engineering of bio-based building blocks is a key to sustainable materials of the future."
Yvonne van der Meer
"My ambition is that all materials will be sustainable in the future and that's also the reason why I cooperate in InSciTE with universities and companies."
Luisa Bortesi
“Nature is a tremendous source of materials. However, we can improve it further by tweaking plants and microbes to increase production of desired building blocks. Our cross-border collaboration with Fraunhofer IME ensures exchange of knowledge and infrastructures, boosting the development and application of Biobased materials.”
Gunnar Seide
"Innovative biobased materials need new, innovative processing; that’s what we are developing! Fibres made of 'frozen air', biobased functional additives, multi-property single-material products for recycling, and much more… Our research has a positive impact on your daily life!"
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