VITO is a leading European independent research and consultancy centre in the areas of cleantech and sustainable development, elaborating solutions for the grand societal challenges of tomorrow: climate change, food security, sustainable energy supply, the ageing population and scarcity of resources.

VITO’s business unit Separation and Conversion Technology (VITO-SCT) (45 scientists, 41 technicians, 15 PhD students) has organized its strategic research program around the theme ‘Sustainable Chemistry’ with special focus on the integration of separation processes with microbial, enzymatic or chemical conversion processes. “Bioprocess intensification’ is one of the flagships.

VITO is well embedded in the industrial biotechnology landscape in Flanders, Belgium and beyond. At regional level, it has strong links with regional industrial Clusters such as Catalisti and Flanders Food, Public Private Partnerships like Flanders Biobased Valley, SME networks through its PRODEM activity, pilot facilities and the major industrial and academic players. At Belgian level, VITO is well connected to the Walloon competitivity pole Greenwin. At crossregional level, VITO is member of the industrial biotechnology CLIB2021 and IBB networks in Germany and IAR pole in France.

VITO has already been involved in roadmapping activities in the domain of the biobased economy, for instance for the regional Sustainable Chemistry cluster FiSCH/Catalisti and in the Dutch-Flemish initiative Biorizon (a shared research centre focusing on research development for industrial implementation of biobased aromatics).


Key Persons Involved