Recognition for climate innovation

The University of Antwerp and the Antwerp Universities of Applied Sciences present the AHA! awards to recognise the efforts of researchers who translate their ideas into an innovative product, process or company for industry and/or society. Within the business categories, two prizes were on offer: the One-to-watch Award for the most promising start-up, and the Innovation Award for the most outstanding innovation.

One-to-watch

This prize went to D-CRBN, a spin-off from the University of Antwerp, which succeeds in converting carbon dioxide into valuable raw materials on an industrial scale. Using their plasma reactor, they capture carbon dioxide and split it into carbon monoxide. Their ambitious goal is to capture 1 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. Here at C2W | Mens & Molecule, we had already been keeping an eye on the company, and in 2021 Marysa van den Berg wrote an article about the origins of D-CRBN.

Over the past three years, D-CRBN has grown considerably, and this year, as the only Belgian company out of 1,083 applicants, they received a €2.5 million grant from the EIC Accelerator programme. ‘With the funding now secured, we want to scale the technology further and make the leap from TRL 6 to TRL 8–9 [Technology Readiness Level, from demonstration to commercial application, ed.].’ Those were the words of David Ziegled, CCO of D-CRBN, back in March 2024 in an interview on our website.

This success illustrates the promising future of D-CRBN in fulfilling their mission to reduce CO₂ emissions and accelerate the transition towards sustainable industries.

Innovation Award

The AHA! Innovation Award for most innovative company this year went to water treatment specialist Aquafin for their efforts to convert wastewater into raw materials for green energy generation. As an organisation, Aquafin holds the public mandate to treat domestic wastewater, but also has a strong focus on innovation and sustainability.

C2W | Mens & Molecule reported in October 2022 on how Aquafin, together with research organisation VITO, imec and the Flemish government, is conducting research into the water quality of Flemish rivers and canals. Following the dry summers of 2017 and 2018, there were serious salinisation and drought problems in West Flanders. The aforementioned organisations worked together to explore how they could better predict water quality and thereby anticipate and take countermeasures. Read the full article from C2W here!

Promising

Two further AHA! awards were also presented within the academic categories: the Promising and Achieved awards. In the Promising category, the top prize was awarded to Sammy Verbruggen, a bio-engineer who leads a research team in the field of photo(electro)catalysis for a range of energy and environmental applications, including the production of hydrogen gas and air purification.

KVCV member Annemie Bogaerts received the AHA! Achieved Award jointly with Tom Breugelmans. Bogaerts, one of Europe’s leading experts in plasma research, focuses on innovative applications of plasma in green chemistry and medicine. Amongst other things, she draws on plasma research to combat cancer cells and convert CO₂ into high-value chemical building blocks and renewable fuels. In an in-depth interview with C2W | Mens & Molecule in September 2019, she shared her insights into the relevance of plasma research for biomedical applications and climate research. In 2021, we spoke with Bogaerts again about the then newly discovered microwave-based plasma reactor capable of fixing nitrogen.

Breugelmans, who shares joint first place in the AHA! Achieved Award with Bogaerts, is an expert in electrochemistry and reactor engineering and likewise offers valuable insights into addressing energy and climate challenges. His research findings and enthusiastic doctoral students have already featured in our publication. Former doctoral students Bert de Mot and Sander Neukermans brought the knowledge and experience gained during their time working with Breugelmans and together founded the company Oxylum. Using electricity, they aim to convert CO₂ into formic acid.

These winners share one common goal: contributing to climate innovation. Their efforts are of critical importance in the global fight against climate change and contribute to the ambition of countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. With their groundbreaking work, they are taking a significant step in the right direction towards a more sustainable future.