As Rijk Zwaan is growing, they are continuously innovating and expanding. At their site in De Lier, they are constructing the Seed Connect Centre: a new seed processing and seed storage facility. When designing the new building they have taken their environmental impact into account.
The environmental impact of the Seed Connect Center
At the Seed Connect Centre, seeds will be extracted from the fruits and then cleaned and treated in preparation for sale. The new building also includes a special area to make it easier for us to host visitors and show them what we do at Rijk Zwaan.
Energy-efficient
Solar panels will be installed on the roof and the new building will be natural gas-free. A thermal energy storage system, supported by heat pumps, will allow them to heat and cool the building in a sustainable manner. The thermal energy – in the form of heat in the summer and cold in the winter – will be stored underground on their own premises.
Water usage
Their focus on sustainability extends beyond the building itself to the operations inside the Seed Connect Centre. For example, the extraction process to remove the seeds from the fruits uses more than 200m3 of water per day. To obtain the necessary water in a sustainable way, a large water basin has been created at the rear of the Seed Connect Centre. This collects the rainwater from the Seed Connect Centre and also from our greenhouses. After filtration, this rainwater can be used for the extraction process.
Additionally, they store rainwater in the ground – currently with an approximate volume of 40,000m3 – for use in dry summers, for both the extraction process as well as irrigation.
For more information:
Rijk Zwaan
Burgemeester Crezéelaan 40
2678 ZG, De Lier
www.rijkzwaan.com