Videos

Imagine that, instead of emitting harmful CO2 into the atmosphere, we could recycle it and use it to power your future laptop or smartphone. That's what Kevin Van Daele is researching. He is developing new catalysts to efficiently convert CO2 into formic acid, a valuable chemical that could one day power your future electronic devices. 

Did you know that the average lifespan of a wind turbine is 20 years? After that, unfortunately, wind turbines end up in landfills as they are built from thermosets, materials that can't be recycled (yet). "It's time to change that", says Marlies Thys. She is looking into making recyclable thermosets by using ... wood waste. 

Do you drink juice in the morning or enjoy a glass of wine to relax after a busy day? Did you know that in order to preserve its flavor and prevent bacterial growth, your favorite beverage has to go through several stages of processing? One is the filtration process, a very expensive production stage. To ensure you can enjoy your favorite drink at a low(er) price, Rishav Phukan is developing next-generation membranes, which will help the industry cut costs and produce in a more eco-friendly way.

Anyone who has ever looked for Waldo knows how hard he is to find. In her research on lung cancer, Rebekka Van Hoof (Uhasselt - KU Leuven - VITO) faces a similar task: she is searching within more than 100,000 so-called extracellular vesicles for 2 types -say 'Waldos'- that can help detect the disease early. But she is determined to narrow her search field. How? Watch her explain it in this video. 

What to do when you want to charge your car and the only source of energy you have are solar panels, but the sun is not shining? In her research Brida Mbuwir (VITO - Energyville) is looking for ways to solve this mismatch between green electricity generation and electricity consumption in large buildings. Listen to her explain how in this video.

Saving good microbes from starvation. That is the aim of the research carried out by Marina Perdigao Elisiario (VITO - TU Delft). This is necessary because the microbes she works with can help us in the fight against climate change. They are very good at converting greenhouse gases such as CO2 and carbon monoxide into biofuels. Unfortunately, with the current techniques, they die of starvation too often and too quickly. Marina is working on a new technique to overcome this.

The production of renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years. But the sun doesn't always shine as brightly, nor does the wind always blow. Fortunately, we can exchange electricity between different countries. This way, Germany can benefit from the Spanish sun and Spain from the German wind. But international trade unfortunately isn't that straightforward... Michiel Kenis (VITO - KU Leuven - EnergyVille) explains why and what he is trying to do about it in this video.

What to do when you want to charge your car and the only source of energy you have are solar panels, but the sun is not shining? In her research Brida Mbuwir (VITO - Energyville) is looking for ways to solve this mismatch between green electricity generation and electricity consumption in large buildings. Listen to her explain how in this video.

Smartphones, laptops, electric cars, ... We simply cannot live without batteries. But did you know that in 5 years' time the demand for batteries is expected to be 15 times higher than today? But instead of producing 15 times more batteries, wouldn't it be better to meet the demand by making more powerful batteries? That is why Ahmed Shafique is working on a new generation of batteries: lithium-sulfur batteries.

Every three seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with dementia. But what causes it? Dementia can be caused by diseases such as Alzheimer's & Parkinson's. The only way to find out the exact cause is by studying the brain tissue of a patient after his death 🧠  Yaël Hirschberg hopes to develop a method of identifying this earlier so that a patient can receive targeted care even before the first symptoms of dementia appear. Watch her explain how  

Flanders is a water-scarce region. We must therefore handle our water resources carefully and monitor their quality well. That is why researchers such as Ruth Vandeputte (VITO) are building the 'Internet of Water', a network of sensors that will continuously measure water quality in the whole of Flanders from 2023 onwards and transmit it in real time. Ruth tells you more about it.

Did you ever hear of 'heat networks'? These are networks of underground pipelines carrying hot water from geothermal plants to houses & buildings. They offer an interesting and sustainable approach to heating. But the larger the network of houses to be heated becomes, the more complex it becomes to manually design an efficient heat network. That's where Yannick Wack's (VITO - KU Leuven - Energyville) research comes in...