Together for a future-proof industry

Smart Delta Resources Flanders has developed into an independent collaborative platform where industrial partners, public authorities, network operators, knowledge institutions and the port work together to accelerate the energy and raw materials transition. SDR Flanders brings partners together around shared transition challenges and creates the groundwork for insights, trust and collaboration to flourish. The implementation of projects always remains the responsibility of the companies involved.

Over 660 journeys a day. That is the number of lorry journeys for incoming and outgoing goods and products – covering some 21,000 km, the majority of which are currently carried out by diesel lorries – that Volvo Car Gent generates every day on and around its site in the port area. To make these operations more sustainable, safer, but above all more efficient, the car manufacturer wants to test whether some of these journeys could be carried out autonomously in the future.

In recent years, Smart Delta Resources Flanders has grown into a key collaborative platform for industrial players in the Scheldt Delta region. In this retrospective, Manfred Van Vlierberghe, former chair, and Carl De Maré, former director, share their insights on why SDR Flanders was needed, how collaboration in the region has changed, and what they believe must absolutely be preserved for the future.