Videos

The land of farmers in coastal Bangladesh remains flooded for almost half of the year. To tackle this, Bangladeshi farmers use 'floating farms'. Jinat Hossain tells you more about this innovative adaptation mechanism. 

Have you ever broken one of your cherished devices, but had to dump it because you couldn't fix it? Julie Metta (KU Leuven) wants to help us reclaim our belongings, by uncovering local heroes, called the Makers.

To make the production of plastics and other chemical processes less energy-intensive and waste-producing, Max Bols turns to nature. Enzymes, the catalysts of living cells, hold the key to improve chemical processes, as he explains in this video. 

Products with an eco-label are often more expensive than regular products. Bio-engineer Sven Dierickx is determined to change this: he uses yeast from bumblebee honey to make environmentally friendly ánd low-cost detergent 🐝🍽🧽

What if we could make plastic out of... Wood waste? This is already possible today, but unfortunately the technology to make such bioplastics is not yet fully developed. Tim Croes wants to help change that.

Soil biodiversity in our European forests is in bad shape. By focusing on public awareness, Iris Vanermen wants to help keep our forests healthy, so that we and future generations can enjoy them for a long time to come.

Too often, companies take too little account of the environmental impact of these inventions when developing new products. Gwenny Thomassen wants to change this: she developed a model to calculate both the cost price and the impact on the environment for products based on micro-algae.

Ever heard of pyrolysis? Then chances are you have a self-cleaning oven. But pyrolysis more than a fancy option in a modern oven. Willem Vercruysse uses this method to make fertilizers and water purification products from microalgae and ivy. 

Leila Paquay turns to funghi and bacteria to grow high-quality industrial hemp - not to be confused with drug type cannabis.

People are selling overnight stays in their spare rooms and rides in their car. Then why can't they sell their unused (solar) energy? In her research Ariana Ramos proposes new rules that would enable you as a consumer to trade energy with other consumers.

Recycling plastic is kind of like eating spaghetti. With this analogy Christian Taplan introduces us into the world of plastic recycling. Christian is working on a new and very promising type of recyclable plastic materials, called 'vitrimers'.

Winter, with its cold temperatures, is not the favourite season of our farmers. Certain plants and crops suffer greatly from the cold. But did you know that these plants themselves have the key to withstand the cold? Antoine Persyn explains exactly how this works.