Catalisti & Moonshot Day 2026: The Next Decade
Gent, Belgium
On Tuesday, November 24, we will be delighted to welcome you to our annual conference event, Catalisti & Moonshot Day, in Ghent. This edition looks 10 years into the future: what does it hold for the chemical and plastics industry? And which sustainable climate technologies are set to emerge?
Ten years is a long time, but a short time indeed when it comes to building a plant, a value chain or a technology platform. On 24 November 2026, Catalisti and Moonshot Flanders will bring together the Flemish innovation ecosystem in Ghent to look a decade ahead.
This edition is titled 'The Next Decade' because we will launch Catalisti's new Innovation Roadmap, which will set the direction for our innovation programmes until 2037. Industry leaders, research institutions and policymakers helped to shape it. On 24 November, we will present the roadmap and ask the people who run this industry what the next ten years will look like from their perspective.
The day starts in the morning, with two parallel tracks of project showcases. You are welcome to join us for the full day, or for the afternoon only.
Programme
Morning showcases: innovation projects from Catalisti & Moonshot Flanders
The Catalisti & Moonshot Day kicks off with innovation project showcases, running in two parallel tracks: one with projects from the Moonshot Flanders portfolio, one with projects from the Catalisti portfolio.
In each showcase, the project team presents its results — the progress made, the tools developed and the opportunities these create — and then opens the floor to discuss what should follow: the next research questions, the next projects, and the avenues for innovation worth pursuing together. Each showcase takes 20 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of questions and discussion.
On the Moonshot track you will see CLARIFY (pilot-scale de-inking and de-lamination), CYCLOPS (chemical recycling of oxygenated polymer materials), WODCA (waste oil to long-chain dicarboxylic acids) and AC2GEN (acrylates from second-generation sugars).
On the Catalisti track: BioSAPs (biodegradable, bio-based superabsorbent polymers), ODORETION (sustainable, nature-based malodour elimination) and Map4Plastics (mapping the end-of-life plastics that go unrecycled in Belgium, and the barriers to recycling them).
Participants can move between the two tracks at any moment.
Afternoon Conference: The Next Decade
| Time | Session | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Welcome coffee & registration | |
| 14:00 | Welcome word | Peter Roose (Catalisti) |
| 14:10 | Keynote: The Next Decade for our industry | Rob Ingram (INEOS & Plastics Europe) |
| 14:55 | What are we up against in the next ten years | Frederik Debrabander (Deloitte Belgium) |
| 15:20 | Catalisti's new Innovation Roadmap | Tine Schaerlaekens (Catalisti) |
| 15:40 | Coffee break & networking — the Roadmap is handed out | |
| 16:15 | Introduction by Catalisti: Strengthening start-ups and scale-ups in our ecosystem | |
| 16:20 | Building the Renewable Syngas Demonstration Plant | Marjon Willekens (D-CRBN) & Geert Reyniers (Worley) |
| 16:40 | Introduction by Catalisti: Company-driven collaborative projects | |
| 16:45 | The Next Decade from the lab | Kevin Van Geem (Ghent University) |
| 17:05 | Introduction by Catalisti: Brokering innovation projects and trajectories | |
| 17:10 | The Eastman innovation journey as an active member of Catalisti | Kristof Moonen (Eastman) |
| 17:35 | Closing statement | essenscia |
| 18:00 | Walking dinner & networking | |
Why attend
- Take a look at the new Innovation Roadmap. It presents the strategic priorities that will shape Catalisti and Moonshot calls, projects and partnerships for the coming decade, and it will be available to view in full before it lands in your inbox.
- Strategic perspectives. Each speaker will address the question what the next decade will hold.
- Get a view across the value chain. Topics covered will include chemicals, carbon capture and utilisation, sector federation, research & demonstration infrastructure.
- Position your own roadmap. Benchmark your R&D and investment plans against the direction in which the sector as a whole is heading and identify where your priorities align with those of potential partners.
- The best industrial innovation networking event of our year. With over 200 participants from companies and knowledge institutions, the day will end with a walking dinner to continue the conversations about the decade to come.
About the Catalisti & Moonshot Day 2026
During this years edition of the Catalisti & Moonshot Day we will present the new Innovation Roadmap of Catalisti. Also discover more about the Catalisti & Moonshot project portfolio, future developments and strategic insights for the next decade. Along with insightful discussions during the plenary session, we will be offering a delicious walking dinner and a unique networking opportunity.
Practical information
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Date : Tuesday 24 November 2026
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Time : Conference doors open 09:30 · Lunch 12:30 · walking dinner from 18:00
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Venue : The Plectrum, Ghent — near Flanders Expo. Venue information
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Getting there : The Loop is directly accessible from the E40 (exit 13 Ghent-West) with parking on site, and by tram 1 from Ghent Sint-Pieters station to Flanders Expo.
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Language : English. Our community is international and so is the programme.
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Registration fee : Free for Catalisti members · €500 for non-members (VAT Excl). A €100 no-show fee applies if you do not cancel at least one week in advance.
If you have any further question, please contact Michiel Wouters and Floris Van Cauwelaert via communications
catalisti.be (communications[at]catalisti[dot]be)