UPLIFT project: request for industrial partners to join the Industrial Advisory Board

Project ID
Type	Strategic Basic Research for clusters (cSBO)
Period	01/01/2026-31/12/2029
Starting date	01/01/2026
Total project budget	€ 2.000.000
Subsidy percentage	according to SBO regulations
Industrial partners (Advisory Board)	Current partners not disclosed at the moment
Applicants (Knowledge partners)	Universiteit Hasselt VITO Universiteit Gent
Catalisti contact	Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be))

Project description

Introduction

Big advancements in the lignin-to-aromatics value chain have already been made, with VITO demonstrating a solubilization-depolymerization technology platform from lab to pilot scale (LignoValue), yielding key products as precursors for vinyl, epoxy, and phenolic resins, as well as plasticizers, surfactants, and polyester/polyurethane coatings. A major challenge to market competitiveness is the incomplete mass balance in the process, with 40-60% of raw material discarded as insoluble residue. This project aims to enhance the economic viability of biorefinery processes by transforming insoluble lignin residues into bio-based materials with commercial potential.

Goals

Our research work, driven by UHasselt, VITO, and UGent, aims to valorize these insoluble lignin fractions by:

Phosphorylation: Functionalizing the insoluble residue via a unique phosphorylation or N/P modification procedure to create bio-based flame retardants for thermoplastics (e.g. HDPE) (co-extrusion) and/or specific wood, (technical) textile and insulation foam applications.
Phosphorylation & Pyrolytic Conversion: Generating phosphorus-doped activated carbon with selective sorption capabilities for noble metal recovery in catalysis and heavy metal removal from aqueous and acidic wastewaters.
Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis: Enhancing the production and fractionation of phenolics and aromatics from lignin residues via fast pyrolysis and catalytic conversion.

Request

To foster interaction with the industry, the project partners are looking for companies that wish to be involved in this cluster strategic basis research (cSBO) project as part of an Advisory Board.

More specific, the project partners are searching for

Expertise in specialty carbon sorbents for purification of waste (water)streams and recuperation of valuable reagents/catalysts.
Consultancy and know-how in pyrolysis and/or phosphorylation pilot plant design and upscaling is highly valued.
Partners with expertise in the inclusion of bio-based liquified phenolics in their product portfolio

The primary role of companies during the pre-project phase is to tailor the project proposal to the actual needs of the companies and thereby maximize the likelihood of future utilization of the results. During the project execution, a two-way dialogue between the researchers and the user field involved remains essential to achieve the targeted knowledge transfer from scientific research to concrete applications.

The primary role of companies during the implementation phase is:

to assist the research activities from an economic point of view;
to assist in designing and preparing the translation of the results into concrete economic applications.

During the cSBO project execution, companies may contribute as member of the Advisory Board. In addition, they may prefer to undertake parallel R&D activities that are related to the subject of the SBO project at their own expense. In the latter option, the parallel R&D activities are not part of the SBO project. Companies may explore the possibility to obtain funding from the Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Advisory Board is open to all interested companies, including companies established outside the Flemish region.

Important notice: Companies that wish to be involved in this cSBO project, will need to be (at least) CONNECT member of Catalisti. For more information on membership and membership fees, please contact Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)). In compliance to SBO regulations, the following requirements apply during the project implementation:

All commercial members of the advisory committee are required to make a monetary contribution of minimum € 250/year in the case of an SME or minimum € 1,000/year in the case of a large enterprise or another organisation.
A commitment to a substantive contribution and a time investment to participate in bilateral consultations with the project executors and/or meetings of the advisory committee.

How to reply to this request

Please send an email before 31/07 to Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)) and briefly describe your interest and potential contribution to the project. After submission of your offer, you will be contacted for more information on the project contents, and a Letter of Intent and Questionnaire will be provided to join the Advisory Board of the project. Feel free to contact Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)) for any further questions you might have related to this request.

Important notice: Partners that wish to participate in spearhead cluster-supported projects are required to be member of one of the spearhead clusters. For more information on membership and membership fees, please visit our website or contact Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)).

Contact

Please contact Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)) if you have questions concerning this RfP.

This Request for Partners is copyrighted by Catalisti vzw and its contents may not be reproduced without the prior written approval of Catalisti. This Request for Partners reflects the status of the proposed project on its date of release and the information contained herein may not be fully up to date or accurate. All information contained herein constitutes valuable information of Catalisti and may not be used for any purposes other than the evaluation of a person’s interest in participating in the proposed project.