Umicore today inaugurated Zilverbos and the connecting road next to its site in Hoboken, together with Cathy Berx, Governor of the Province of Antwerp, Koen Kennis, Alderman for Mobility of the City of Antwerp, the Hoboken district, the Municipality of Hemiksem and other partners.
Both projects bring an important change to the historically evolved interface between industrial activities and the surrounding residential area. Zilverbos is the green zone that creates greater distance between the industrial site and the Moretusburg residential neighbourhood. The connecting road between Moretusburg and Hemiksem provides a safer and clearer separation between public traffic and the industrial activities on the site.
Both projects are the result of years of preparation and collaboration with the City of Antwerp, the Hoboken district and other partners. Since 2020, Umicore has invested approximately €125 million in the two projects combined.
“With Zilverbos and the connecting road, historically evolved situations around the site have been structurally addressed. Umicore in Hoboken has played an important industrial role for generations, and with that comes our responsibility for the environment in which we operate. We know that these projects have significantly changed the neighbourhood in recent years. We are grateful to residents for their patience and involvement throughout this process,” said Johan Ramharter, Site Director Umicore Hoboken.
Where residential areas, public traffic and industrial activities were located very close to one another for many years, both projects create greater distance and a clearer separation between the site and its surroundings. They form part of Umicore’s broader efforts to further reduce the impact of its activities on the surrounding environment, in cooperation with public authorities and local partners.
Green zone named Zilverbos
During the inauguration, the name of the green zone was announced: Zilverbos. The name has been placed on the new insect hotel at the north-eastern corner of the site. Zilverbos comprises around 11,000 native trees and shrubs across five hectares and will gradually develop further into a wooded area in Moretusburg. The area is not open to the public and has no recreational function.
Zilverbos creates a structural spatial separation between residential areas and industry. The Umicore site dates back to 1887. As industrial and residential development continued, the site and residential area gradually came closer together over time. In Curiestraat, for example, homes were still being built in 1958 just a few metres from the industrial site.
The zone forms part of Umicore’s environmental improvement projects in Hoboken aimed at further reducing exposure to lead and other metals. The twice-yearly blood lead measurements were among the factors underpinning the development of the green zone.
To create the zone, from 2020 onwards Umicore offered residents in the area closest to the site the opportunity to sell their homes voluntarily. In total, 186 homes were acquired. Four homes were retained and integrated into the new surroundings.
“Residential areas and industry both fulfil an important role in our society. The challenge is to enable them to coexist in a responsible way. The green zone, now Zilverbos, contributes to this by literally creating more distance between residential areas and industry. In this way, it gives concrete shape to a future-oriented and balanced development of the area,” said Cathy Berx, Governor of the Province of Antwerp.
The name Zilverbos emerged from proposals by local residents, employees of the Umicore site in Hoboken and the Heemkundige Kring Hoboken. The name refers to “de Zilver”, as the plant and its predecessors have been known locally for generations, thereby linking the industrial history of the location with its new green setting.
New connecting road makes traffic safer and clearer
Together with Zilverbos, the approximately two-kilometre-long connecting road between Moretusburg and Hemiksem was inaugurated. The connecting road is expected to open to traffic on 16 November 2026. Umicore made 3.7 hectares of its own land available for the project.
The connecting road provides a structural solution to a historically evolved situation. Part of Adolf Greinerstraat still runs through the site, where public traffic, cyclists and pedestrians share the route with industrial traffic. After the connecting road opens, this section will be closed as a public road and incorporated into the Umicore site. The new road, with a four-metre-wide segregated two-way cycle path alongside it, directs public traffic along the site and thus provides a clear and safe separation of traffic flows. Both have been integrated into the surroundings, with landscaping and facilities for the collection and infiltration of rainwater.
Umicore developed and financed the connecting road in cooperation with the City of Antwerp and the Hoboken district. The City and the district oversee, among other things, alignment with urban policy, the quality of the execution and safety for the different road users.
“With this connecting road, we are making traffic flows around the industrial area safer and clearer. Cyclists will have a separate and comfortable connection, while public and industrial traffic will no longer get in each other’s way. This project shows what targeted cooperation between a company, the City and the district can concretely deliver for mobility, accessibility and quality of life,” said Koen Kennis, Alderman for Mobility of the City of Antwerp.
The Umicore site in Hoboken recycles hundreds of thousands of tonnes of complex recyclable materials each year and recovers 17 different valuable metals from them, including critical metals that are essential to European industry. Gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium, among others, find their way back into applications that are part of our daily lives and our economy after recycling, from electronics to mobility and advanced technologies. By recovering these metals and bringing them back into circulation, Umicore contributes to a more circular and resilient supply of raw materials in Europe.
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