- The facility includes 4,000 square meters of labs, offices, and a 600 square meter rooftop greenhouse.
- CropDesign's TraitMillTM platform tests over 140,000 rice plants annually.
- BASF Plant Science employs approximately 145 people in Ghent.
- BASF recently expanded its Research Triangle Park facility with a $33 million investment.
New Facility Overview
BASF has inaugurated a new plant biotechnology research facility in Ghent, Belgium. The facility, located in the Bio-Accelerator building in Technologiepark Ghent, spans 4,000 square meters and includes labs, offices, and a state-of-the-art rooftop greenhouse dedicated to rice research and product development.
Strategic Location
The new facility benefits from its proximity to renowned institutions like the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), enhancing research collaborations with local partners. This move underscores BASF's commitment to advancing agricultural solutions through modern biotechnology.
Facility Details
The recently constructed wing of the Bio-Accelerator building houses four floors of labs and offices, a technical floor, and a 600 square meter rooftop greenhouse. This expansion provides ample space for scientific interaction and technology testing, supporting CropDesign's TraitMillTM platform, which tests over 140,000 rice plants annually to identify yield-enhancing traits.
Workforce and Previous Investments
Since its acquisition by BASF in 2006, CropDesign has doubled its workforce, now employing approximately 145 people in the Ghent region. Previous investments in the area include a 730 square meter processing building in 2008 and an 800 square meter greenhouse in 2011, aimed at increasing throughput and improving the quality of the TraitMillTM platform.
Global Research Presence
BASF Plant Science's global headquarters is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, focusing on plant biotechnology solutions for markets in the Americas and Asia. The company conducts leading research at two sites in North America and three in Europe, including Ghent, Berlin, and Limburgerhof, Germany. Recently, BASF expanded its Research Triangle Park facility with a $33 million investment to further innovation in crop protection and plant biotechnology research.
