Fuji Oil Holdings has announced the establishment of their Global Innovation Center Europe in the Netherlands. It is the Japan-based company’s fourth R&D centre, and the first to be based in Europe. It is a further step in the group’s plans to globalise its R&D structure and expand its innovation ecosystem.

Fuji Oil Group CTO Mr. Haruyasu Kida says they have been working towards establishing an R&D network that reflects the global scale of the Group. The new Global Innovation Center will play a key part in delivering on this strategy.

Fuji Oil’s Global Innovation Center Europe (GICE) will be established at the Wageningen University and Research Campus in the heart of the Dutch Foodvalley region. The company expects to open its office in September 2021.

Dr. Liz Kamei, head of the new centre, comments that the Dutch Foodvalley region and Wageningen University are at the leading edge of technology developments in mild, sustainable processing and plant-based foods, which will be the main focus of GICE. They have been part of this food-related ecosystem for the last three years and GICE will enable them to expand its activities to generate win-wins for the Fuji Oil Group and its innovation partners.

GICE will operate an open innovation approach to R&D. Experts at the centre will work with partners from academia and industry in consortia or one-to-one projects to identify, evaluate and speed up the deployment of new technologies that align with Fuji Oil Group’s ambitions to contribute to resolving social issues through the provision of sustainable, nutritious and delicious plant-based food solutions.