Heineken investing €45m in new global R&D centre

Located in Zoeterwoude, the facility is due to open midway through 2025 and promises to play a key role in Heineken’s innovation and growth efforts moving forward.

Named the Dr. H.P. Heineken Centre after Henry Pierre Heineken, the successor to the brewer's founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken, it will cover an area of 8,800 square metres and feature offices, laboratories, a model service centre and sensory research and packaging development departments.

Staff from 12 different countries will be employed at the site to work across brands such as Heineken, Desperados and Amstel, while the centre will play a central role in co-ordinating the firm’s global R&D network which includes hubs in Mexico, South Africa and Southeast Asia.

The Dr. H.P. Heineken Centre is being built alongside Heineken's Zoeterwoude brewery, which it claims is the largest in Europe, and nearby to the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), where the firm has established a dedicated laboratory and invests in biotechnological research.

Heineken hopes that this location will foster a great environment for global and local innovation, with previous successes developed in Zoeterwoude including Heineken 0.0, the Draught Keg and the horizontal fermentation system utilised by the manufacturer.

Innovation focus

Commenting on the project, Heineken chair and CEO Dolf van den Brink said that innovation and technology have always been central to the brewer’s approach.

“Ranging from our A-yeast, which has been providing the unique taste of Heineken since the 19th century, to the alcohol-free beer revolution led by Heineken 0.0, [innovation has always been important],”​ continued van den Brink

“As the beating heart within our global R&D network, this centre opens new possibilities to optimize flavors and processes and to bring innovative products to market. This is a crucial milestone in realizing our Brew a Better World 2030 strategy, through which Heineken raises the bar and enables faster progress towards a net zero, and a fairer, healthier world.”​

Concluding, he added that Heineken was committed to its operations in the Netherlands and maintaining the country’s presence as a “a leader in food technology”.​

Further collaboration

Meanwhile, Professor Jack Pronk, head of the Biotechnology Department at Delft University of Technology, said that the Dr. H.P. Heineken Centre would provide further possibilities for the institution to intensify its collaboration with Heineken on biotechnology-based innovations in brewing.

“Biotechnology has an immense potential to address global challenges and to make our future society more sustainable,” ​Pronk continued.

“Our staff and students are eager to contribute to this mission through cutting-edge fermentation research at the interface of academia and industry.”​

In other news, Kerry has entered into an agreement with Kerry Co-Operative Creameries to sell Kerry Dairy Ireland in a deal worth €500m (£414m).​​