With the opening of its "Technophos" Centre of Excellence and Technology in Varna, Bulgaria, the Belgian group EcoPhos consolidates its pioneering role in the area of phosphates. The mission of the new centre is to solve the global problem of phosphate scarcity.

A Belgian company founded in 1996 by Mohamed Takhim and based in Louvain-la-Neuve, EcoPhos develops and markets technologies that reduce production and energy costs by 30%. In addition, EcoPhos' processes can be used to make maximum use of urban waste and even the lowest grade rocks, hitherto left almost completely unexploited. EcoPhos now holds ten international patents, with an investment of over 45 million euros since its inception.

Phosphate is an essential raw material for the development of living organisms, humans, animals and plants. Phosphate is a component of our body, it is used to make fertiliser and features in the composition of animal nutrition. Global resources of high quality phosphate will be exhausted in around 50 years. Hence the urgent need to find innovative solutions in this area.

The new centre of excellence comes in addition to three production sites in Europe (the Netherlands, France and Bulgaria), the Lummen engineering offices and the EcoPhos headquarters located in Louvain-la-Neuve. The group employs 270 people and has a turnover of 138 million euros, up more than 50% per year since 2009.