Updates

Flemish Minister for the Environment, Tourism, Justice and Energy, Zuhal Demir, visited the city of sand and glass today. After a glassblowing demonstration at GlazenHuis, she held discussions on plans for the future and potential financial support from Flanders at a working meeting in Huis Aerts.

Minister Demir was welcomed to the GlazenHuis today, where she was given a guided tour in the company of Mayor Bob Nijs, Alderman of Tourism Karel Wieërs, artistic director Jeroen Maes, and managing director Niek Janssen. During a glass casting demonstration, pupils from De Speling primary school were on hand to present her a gift made of cast glass. “This is quite literally a warm welcome,” the minister quipped.

Moreover, the city of Lommel is betting on the future. After getting acquainted with hot molten glass, Minister Demir, together with the College of Aldermen, sat down for a working meeting in Huis Aerts. The renovation of the Regional Tourist Centre, the North-South Link (Noord-Zuidverbinding) and Ecoduct N71, the Lommel bypass, the Family Justice Center Limburg, and potential research into the use of hydrogen and geothermal energy were among the most important items on the agenda. “Lommel has been a pioneer of green energy for years. As part of our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2050, we plan to go deep. Lommel has everything it needs to be a role model in the field of deep geothermal energy,” Mayor Nijs explained. A potential cooperation with the Flemish regional authorities is now to be explored.