We’re building a CleanTech world
Brussels’ abundance of green space, cosmopolitan atmosphere and skilled, multilingual population is making our city a dynamic hub for CleanTech businesses. And our sophisticated leisure time pursuits are just the cherry on a fast-growing sundae.
Brussels welcomes innovative companies offering technological solutions for environmental and climate challenges. Whether you’re in clean energy, sustainable transport & mobility, waste management & recycling, sustainable construction, or clean materials & resources, Brussels supports your company’s growth by leveraging our well-developed ecosystem, highly skilled workforce, and public authority assistance.
Do you want to stay informed about
the future trends in Sustainable
Tech in Brussels?
Fast Cleantech Facts & Figures
Brussels
- 1,000+ full time employees work for Brussels-based cleantech start and scale-ups
- 40 % of the cleantech companies in Brussels have been created over the last 3 years
- € 135M+ in funding has been raised by cleantech innovators in Brussels
- € 47M+ in innovation support provided to Brussels-based companies and organisations for renewable energy,
energy monitoring, energy storage and CO2 capture, smart, green and integrated transport and climate action, environment and resource efficiency - 12,000+ PhD researchers in top ranked Times Higher Education World University 2021 Ranking within a 20 miles radius
Belgium
- Belgium ranks 3rd on the list of countries with the highest number of solar panels per capita
- In 2021, Belgium had racked up a total of nine wind farms in the North Sea, together accounting for a capacity of 2.26 gigawatts. 399 wind turbines generate electricity to meet the demand of 2.2 million households
Opportunities
- Leadership in urban development: Brussels has a clear focus on sustainable construction through leveraging innovative techniques and material-technical innovations
- Academic leadership: ULB and VUB Universities are core institutions for scientific research into sustainable solutions
- Key sectors supported by the Brussels-Capital Region: circular economy, sustainable construction and clean urban mobility. Priorities of the Region relate to decarbonising urban industry, promoting a circular and regenerative economy and boosting carbon-free urban and last mile logistic
- Clusters, such as circlemade.brussels & ecobuild.brussels, and spaces, such as greenbizz.brussels & transforma.bxl, welcome entrepreneurs and innovators and provide support for their projects, ideas, prototype development and production scaling
- finance&invest.brussels -the regional public investment fund- identified economic transition, sustainability and a circular economy as a fundamental pillar in the regional investment strategy
- Local and European grants – numerous initiatives on a regional and European level to stimulate scientific research, innovation and industrial development
Ecosystem
Cluster circlemade.brussels
- Gathering 75+ members
- Vision: stimulating innovation to develop the regional circular economy offer and maximizing the impact of its members’ initiatives
- Services:
- Networking and generating visibility
- Skills acquisition
- Collective guidance for working groups and multi-player projects
Accelerator programme
- greenlab.brussels is a 6 month start-up accelerator programme, providing all the tools needed to turn your sustainable solutions into a product and business
- 120 projects and startups helped since 2012
Cluster ecobuild.brussels
- Gathering 150+ members
- Vision: developing and structuring the regional offer in sustainable construction to help companies become more competitive and win new markets with a focus on renovation of the building stock and the circular aspects of construction
- Services:
- Connecting and fostering collaborations
- Showcasing members’ activities, work and solutions
- Highlighting innovative practices and new business models
- Orienting and supporting companies in their development
Incubators
- greenbizz.brussels – an ecosystem specially designed for innovation in the sustainable economy with flexible office spaces, workshops for prototyping & production & tailor-made support
- transforma bxl – a creative and collaborative environment that provides the resources and tools to innovate, transform ideas into action and drive forward entrepreneurial projects
- Lab Box – a startup studio focusing on the future of mobility promoting and developing new mobility solutions that will make cities more liveable and enjoyable
