VITO

🤝 Proud to be part of the European INSPIRE project, joining forces with VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute and River Cleanup to 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 with pioneering technology. As part of this initiative, our VITO experts use AI-driven drone imaging and smart cameras under bridges to map, detect, and analyse plastic waste in the Scheldt. These insights help us understand how plastic moves in the river and where it accumulates – crucial knowledge for targeted clean-up and prevention strategies. This research doesn’t just stop at the Scheldt. The goal of INSPIRE is to develop scalable solutions that can be applied to rivers worldwide, helping policymakers, organisations, and citizens combat plastic pollution effectively. 🌊 On this 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, we celebrate our first results and remain committed to using science, innovation, and collaboration to make rivers plastic-free. 🔗 More about the results in this news item on our website: https://lnkd.in/g65imnRk #INSPIRE #PlasticFreeRivers #RemoteSensing #RiverCleanup #VLIZ #Scheldt

🥳 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬! 🚀 ENGIE Belgium and the EnergyVille partners KU Leuven, VITO, imec, and Hasselt University are renewing their collaboration to drive forward innovative energy technologies. 🤝 For the next three years, experts from Laborelec, Lab Crigen, and EnergyVille will continue to join forces on cutting-edge research projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, green molecules, and energy systems. How does climate change impact wind farm energy yields? What are the most effective technologies for CO₂ capture and green molecules? How can we transform steam networks into efficient heating grids? By combining EnergyVille’s academic expertise with ENGIE’s operational experience, we are working towards real solutions for the energy transition. 💬 Gerrit Jan Schaeffer, General Manager of EnergyVille: 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘕𝘎𝘐𝘌, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.” 🔎 Read more: https://lnkd.in/edi26nup #withENGIE #researchanddevelopment #renewableenergy #energytransition #energytechnology #innovation #energy #energyefficiency KU Leuven VITO imec Hasselt University imo-imomec Thor Park Open Thor Living Lab

🎧 𝐃𝐮𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐞, 𝐤𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐡𝐨𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐤 𝐣𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐚𝐧? Festivals zijn tijdelijke steden met een 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐟𝐭𝐞 ⚡. Piek- en sluimerverbruik en de combinatie van verschillende energiebronnen maken verduurzaming een uitdaging. Hoe krijg je inzicht in je energieverbruik? Welke rol spelen batterijen, slimme netaansluitingen en hernieuwbare energie? En hoe zorg je dat bezoekerscomfort en podiumproducties niet in het gedrang komen? In deze aflevering van de 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 komen de volgende experten aan bod: ● Robbie Scaut (Pukkelpop) & Tomas Raeymaekers (Boomtown Festival) – Over hoe hun festivals energie-efficiënter worden door slimmer meten, pieken af te vlakken en energiebronnen strategisch te combineren. ● Cas Lavaert (KU Leuven) – Onderzocht het energieverbruik van Boomtown en deelt verrassende inzichten over sluimerverbruik, de impact van podiumverlichting en hoe data helpt bij efficiëntere keuzes. ● Carlo Mol (VITO/EnergyVille) – Over de cruciale rol van batterijen, slimme energiesystemen en welke innovaties de toekomst van festivalenergie bepalen. ● Peter Decuypere – Eventexpert en project lead van Sustafest modereert. 👉 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐮: https://lnkd.in/eWX2KAce 𝐇𝐨𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐮𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧 💚 Pukkelpop, Boomtown en andere toonaangevende festivals zetten niet alleen in op slimme energieoplossingen, maar bijv. ook op circulaire systemen, mobiliteit, toegankelijkheid en sociale duurzaamheid. Bekijk al hun duurzaamheidsinitiatieven op onze website: 🔗 sustafest.be. -- Sustafest is een project in opdracht van de Vlaamse overheid, uitgevoerd door VITO. Het brengt festivalorganisatoren samen om de grootste uitdagingen te verkennen en inspirerende acties te delen. #Sustafest #DuurzameFestivals #DuurzameEnergie #VanDataNaarActie

📢 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Join a CCRI community of practice  Are you working on circular economy solutions in your city or region? Want to connect with peers, exchange best practices, and tackle shared challenges together? The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) communities of practice bring together local and regional authorities across Europe for an in-depth exchange on key circular topics. As a research organisation we will assist these communities with development of knowledge, policy support and addressing research & innovation gaps. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬? Discover the key circular economy topics you can collaborate on: https://lnkd.in/ene2yG9g 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 by 28 March 2025, 6:00 PM CET.   #CircularEconomy #Circularcities #circularregions #CCRIEurope

Ontdek Vlaamse waterinnovaties op Aquatech Amsterdam! 🌊 Bezoek deze week #fluidcrew op stand 12.711 en ontdek hoe VITO en partners complexe wateruitdagingen aangaan. 🎤 Vandaag kan je ook boeiende pitches meepikken over onder andere grondwater, slibontwatering en waterverliesreductie. Aquatech VITO Kennispunt Water #WaterInnovation #Aquatech

Meet the 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞: a practical tool for ethical innovation in healthcare. 🩺 Technology is transforming healthcare, but innovation must go beyond being smart – it must also be caring, responsible, and human-centred. To support this, we've launched the Caring Technology Guide, a practical tool that helps technology developers and healthcare professionals 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Built on the 8 Caring Technology Principles (8CTP), this guide provides a structured three-step approach to ensure healthcare technologies truly support end users: 🔹 Planning – Develop a roadmap to integrate ethical principles from the start. 🔹 Evaluation – Assess technology through targeted questions and visual insights. 🔹 Action Plan – Define concrete steps to improve alignment with care needs. Developed with Yuza and Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, and supported by the Fund Dr. Daniël De Coninck and the King Baudouin Foundation, this tool is designed for both new and existing healthcare technologies. 💡 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 about how we bridge the gap from theory to practice? Read the interview with VITO R&D researcher Elisabeth Honinx on the importance of making ethical innovation practical: https://lnkd.in/daNz-MgF Discover how the Caring Technology Guide can help make innovation more inclusive, secure, and user-focused. 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰: https://lnkd.in/emxNGqGa #CaringTechnologyGuide #HealthcareInnovation #EthicalTech #DigitalHealth #FutureOfCare #8CTP

🇧🇪🤝🇮🇳 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐮𝐦-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 Last week, we had the opportunity to participate in the 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 (Delhi & Mumbai) with 𝐇𝐑𝐇 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝, MP Matthias Diependaele, Minister Theo F., and Minister Maxime Prévot. Representing VITO alongside our CEO Inge Neven, colleagues Campling Paul, Jente Broeckx and Ruchi Gupta, PhD, we engaged in high-level discussions, impactful meetings, and key events focused on sustainability, energy, and economic cooperation. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: ✅ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 Vibha Dhawan from TERI - The Energy and Resources Institute and her team on innovation in climate resilience and sustainability and strengthening the ties to continue our collaboration with VITO and G-STIC. ✅ Inge Neven, Jente Broeckx and Paul Campling as speakers at the “𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐮𝐦-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚: 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝” seminar. ✅ Meetings with regional stakeholders and funding agencies to strengthen sustainability partnerships, including a meeting with The World Bank, as well as discussions with the Delegation of the European Union to India, India DST, GIZ India, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development and others. ✅ Meetings with 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 advancing collaboration in 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧, 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 and other areas of mutual interest: RMI, Larsen & Toubro alongside 𝐌𝐏 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐞, Praj Industries and Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, Reliance Industries Limited India, Jubilant Ingrevia Limited, Ion Exchange India Ltd, Aaxis Nano Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and others. ✅ 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 (𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚) in a complete value chain from India to Flanders as the entrance for the EU. All partners are ready and willing to go for a final investment decision (FID) after a conclusive commitment of the governments, which was also part of the discussion during the high-level roundtable with both Indian and Belgian CEOs, presided over by MP Diependaele. As part of the 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 on "Industrial Decarbonisation and Global Hydrogen Supply Chains“, our colleague Ruchi Gupta discussed key infrastructure challenges in 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, comparing 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 with Europe, as well as emphasising the critical role of 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 in accelerating the development and scalability of green hydrogen infrastructure. ...continue reading in the comments:

Excited to be in India as part of the Belgian Economic Mission. Today we met with India Health Fund and Tata Trusts to discuss innovative solutions for climate resilience and public health. Recently, we published a blogpost with IHF on how cities in India can tackle extreme heat and protect vulnerable populations. Check out the blogpost here: https://lnkd.in/eE3A2-QE #BelgianEconomicMission #IndiaHealthFund #ClimateResilience #PublicHealth #ExtremeHeat #SustainableCities Sacha Takacs; Shu Yang; Inge Neven; Campling Paul; Ruchi Gupta, PhD; Jente Broeckx

🎪🎵 Hoe maak je je festival écht duurzaam: van mindset naar impact Een duurzaam festival gaat verder dan een paar ecologische ingrepen. Hoe zorg je ervoor dat duurzame keuzes verankerd zijn in de kern van je organisatie 💚? Hoe neem je beslissingen die niet alleen vandaag, maar ook op lange termijn een verschil maken? En hoe krijg je je bezoekers, leveranciers en crew mee in dit verhaal? In de 𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 van de 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭-𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 gaan we in gesprek met: ● Esther Koshari (Paradise City Festival) – Paradise City is een koploper in duurzaamheid en werd daarvoor al meermaals internationaal bekroond. Esther deelt hoe ze 𝐝𝐮𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐚𝐚𝐦𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 en hoe dat zich vertaalt naar de festivalbeleving. ● Yves De Weerdt (VITO) – Als expert in transitieprocessen legt Yves uit hoe 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧 festivalorganisatoren kan helpen om duurzame keuzes te maken met echte impact. ● Myriam Buyl (VITO) – Als co-founder van Sustafest kadert Myriam waarom 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 cruciaal is en hoe Sustafest festivalorganisatoren ondersteunt bij duurzame verandering. ● Peter Decuypere, event expert en project lead Sustafest, modereert. 🎙 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐮: sustafest.be/podcast --- Sustafest is een project in opdracht van de Vlaamse overheid, uitgevoerd door VITO. Het brengt festivalorganisatoren en duurzaamheidsexperts samen om de belangrijkste uitdagingen te verkennen en inspirerende acties te delen. #Sustafest #DuurzameFestivals #ParadiseCity #VanMindsetNaarImpact #FestivalToekomst

Congratulations to Omar Martinez Mora on successfully defending his PhD! 🎓👏 On 20 February 2025, Omar Martínez Mora successfully defended his PhD entitled “Recovery of platinum group metals into (electro)catalytic nanoparticles by gas-diffusion electrocrystallization”. In his PhD research, Omar focused on the development of Gas-diffusion Electrocrystallization (GDEx), a novel process for recovering PGMs from waste materials, such as spent automotive catalysts, by converting them into high-performance nanoparticles. This PhD was a collaborative project between the department of Materials Engineering | KU Leuven and the Electrochemical Excellence Centre (ELEC) of VITO. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eXX7Mey8