Meet the team

In 1994, Sofie Sannen started straight from high school as a secretary in the Quality department at Ford Werke in Genk (Belgium). After 9 months, in April 1995, she started at VITO, in the brand-new team of BAT (Best Available Technologies), which was part of the Environmental Technologies department. Over the years, this department underwent several transitions from Environmental Technologies, over Environmental & Process Technologies to what it is today: unit Separation & Conversion Technologies (SCT). During this transition, Sofie stayed in the unit and is now 1 of the 3 secretaries supporting a unit of + 100 researchers & technicians. More specifically, Sofie takes care of  project administration of 2 project teams of the SCT unit, being MESCH (MEmbrane Separation and value CHain assessment) and the SPOT team.

Dr. ir. Elias Feghali holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Paris-Saclay since 2015. He has a master of engineering in chemical engineering (French diplôme d’ingénieur) as well as a master of science in molecular and supramolecular chemistry from the Université de Strasbourg, France. In 2012 he joined the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA) for his PhD dedicated to the valorization of plastic waste, lignin and CO2. Afterwards, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow between SCION (New Zealand) and VITO (Belgium) and CSIRO (Australia). Dr. Feghali is also an associate professor of chemical engineering at Notre Dame University-Louaize, Lebanon. In 2020, Dr. Feghali joined the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) as a visiting researcher and has been involved in several R&D projects in the fields of lignin valorisation, plastic recycling, heterogeneous catalysis and bio-polymer synthesis.

Stijn Geudens graduated in 2022 as a Bachelor in Chemistry at Thomas More. During his education at Thomas More, he did an internship at VTIO and did his bachelor thesis on the modification of lignosulfonates for subsequent use as building blocks in polyurethanes. After his education, he started his professional career at VITO as a lab support within the SPOT team focussing on the recycling of plastics.

Dr. Oliver Driscoll undertook his PhD at the University of Bath (England), under the supervision of Prof. Matthew Jones, which was concerned with the exploration of Earth abundant iron complexes for their application to sustainable, homogeneous catalytic processes. This included ring opening polymerisation / copolymerisation, the transformation and coupling of CO2 with epoxides and briefly on polymer degradation. Also in Bath, he completed his Masters of Chemistry (MChem with hons) which included a year industrial research placement working at Sasol UK Ltd. in St. Andrews (Scotland) and a final year research project under the supervision of Dr. Ruth Webster. In 2021, as part of an international collaboration, he worked as an industrial postdoctoral fellow between VITO (SPOT team, Belgium) and Scion (New Zealand) on the valorisation of lignin and synthesis of lignin polymeric materials. In 2024, he returned to Belgium and the SPOT team as a researcher looking into more sustainable flame retardants.

Balaji Sridharan obtained his master’s degree in Energy and Process Technology from TU Delft and is currently waiting for his PhD graduation from the University of Groningen (RUG) in the Netherlands, where he worked in a Horizon 2020 research consortium called ABC-salt to convert lignocellulosic biomass to biofuels under the supervision of Erik Heeres and Robbie Vanderbosch (from Biomass Technology Group (BTG), NL). He further continued his research career at RUG/BTG as a post-doctoral researcher in the co-refining of pyrolysis oil to biofuels. In August of 2023, he joined Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and has been involved in the continuous catalytic depolymerization of Lignin. His interests lie in the use of heterogeneous catalysis in thermochemical approaches to valorize lignin and biopolymers. He is passionate about a more sustainable energy/chemical industry and aims to contribute to a more renewable and a carbon neutral society.

Dr Kelly Servaes obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the KULeuven in 2007. Initially, she was responsible for the development and application of analytical strategies and techniques for tracking of organics in different matrices at VITO. Since 2012, she was focusing on valorisation of biomass through identification, extraction and purification of added-value components. In 2014, she joined the bio-aromatic strategic platform, focusing on development of membrane separation processes for purification and fractionation of lignin-based streams, issued from pre-treatment and lignin depolymerisation processes. She is the project coordinator of the construction of the LignoValue Pilot plant and its pretreatment facility PILLAR and will be involved in the site acceptance testing of the pilot plant for pretreatment and metal-catalyzed lignin depolymerisation. Project leader of several  projects at national and EU level. (Co)-author of 23 scientific publications.

Sam Vloemans graduated in 2008 as a Bachelor in Chemistry and environmental science after which he started his professional career as a lab technician in the R&D labs of Soudal Turnhout. His main focus were lab trials in the development of hybrid adhesives and sealants as well as the in the development of PU polymers. In 2011 Sam joined the VITO SCT Unit as a member of the REC team performing lab experiments on high pressure & high temperature reactors, supercritical fluid extractions as well as doing DSP of organic waste/side streams. As from Januari 2021 Sam joined the SPOT team as a lab support in the depolymerization of lignin, epoxidation of lignin oils, plastics recycling and many more.

Dr. ir. Annelore Aerts obtained a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry specialized in Molecular Systems and Materials Chemistry at Eindhoven University of Technology. After completing her internship on RAFT-polymerizations at CSIRO in Melbourne, she moved back to Eindhoven for a PhD in organic and polymer chemistry in the Supramolecular Polymer Chemistry Group of Rint Sijbesma and Hans Heuts. Her research was focused on probing damage in polymers and composites using mechanochemistry. Recently, in June 2022, she joined the SPOT team as a postdoctoral researcher on chemical recycling of plastics.

Dr. Brent Daelemans obtained his PhD in Chemistry (2023) at the KU Leuven under the supervision of Prof. Steven De Feyter and Prof. Wim Dehaen. During his PhD, he studied the use of graphite as a catalyst by combining high-resolution characterization techniques with reactions in bulk. Part of the research was performed at the Universitat Jaume I (Spain) during a research stay under the supervision of Prof. Jose A. Mata. In September 2023, Brent joined the SPOT team at VITO as a researcher where he will be working on the depolymerization of lignin. 

Thi Thanh Tam Huynh obtained a master’s degree in Science Education at Kyungpook National University, South Korea (2021). Her thesis focuses on the synthesis for gradient copolymer of methyl acrylate with common alcohols using living radical polymerization. Before beginning her PhD, she completed a 6-months internship at KITECH, South Korea working on dyeing on Nilon-6 via UV-photografting. In December 2022, she start as PhD student at VITO focusing on design of lignin acrylate functional materials.

Dr. Marc Comí Bonachí is a research scientist at VITO and the coordinator of the bio-based epoxy resin development strategy. He holds a Master’s degree in Polymers and Biopolymers from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and a Ph.D. in Chemical Science and Technology from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain). His doctoral research focused on utilizing renewable feedstocks to design, functionalize, and fabricate novel monomers and polymers, integrating supramolecular-reversible interactions to impart smart properties such as self-healing and shape memory. He continued his career at Texas A&M University at Qatar, developing advanced chemical strategies for designing conjugated polymeric materials used in optoelectronic applications. Since January 2023, he has been part of the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) leading R&D projects on lignin-based epoxy resins for industrial applications, including adhesives, insulators, and coatings. His research interests lie in harnessing recyclable and renewable resources to develop innovative polymeric and composite materials, characterizing their physicochemical properties, and establishing structure-property relationships to predict the performance of future materials.

Esteban Taibo y Santiago graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s in chemistry from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. Then, he spent 2 years at Kela NV (Hoogstraten) as a QC stability analyst. His task mainly consisted of shelf-life testing of manufactured pharmaceuticals. As of July 2024, he started at VITO as laboratory support within the SPOT team focusing on plastics recycling.

Aina Perez Nakai holds a master’s degree in Materials Engineering, Processing, and Characterization, and a Ph.D. in Engineering and Industrial Production from the Universitat Politècnica de València. Her research has focused on the development of eco-efficient composites and polymeric materials, using active ingredients such as vegetable oils and proteins derived from nuts and seeds. During her Ph.D., she completed a 6-month internship at Resortecs, a Belgian start-up specializing in innovative disassembly systems for textile waste management. In November 2024, she joined VITO as a Ph.D. candidate, focusing on lignin-based biocomposites in collaboration with KU Leuven.

Lander De Belder earned his Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Antwerp in 2014. He began his career at BULK architecten, where he served as a project architect for six years. His work there spanned a diverse range of projects, reflecting his commitment to innovative and sustainable design. In 2021, Lander transitioned to Stichting Kempens Landschap as a project coordinator. During his tenure, he successfully led numerous heritage and landscape projects, enhancing the region's cultural and environmental landscape. From 2025, at VITO, Lander continues to apply his experience and expertise as a project officer. He focuses on supporting SPOT projects by planning, coordinating, and overseeing them to ensure they are completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards.

Dr. Ir. Wouter Stuyck obtained his Master’s degree in Bio-science Engineering from the KU Leuven University in 2018. Shortly after, he obtained a FWO-grant to pursue a PhD at the group of Prof. Dirk De Vos, focusing on catalytic solutions for sustainable plastic recycling technologies. After finishing his PhD in 2023, he stayed at the same group as a postdoctoral researcher, working on the complete mineralization of hazardous PFAS compounds, while remaining actively involved in different plastics and plasticizers projects. In 2025, he joined the SPOT team in VITO as a researcher, working on the chemical recycling of plastics.

Dr. Keita Saito obtained his Master’s degree from Yamagata University, Japan. During his master’s program, he also completed an internship at POLYMAT in Spain, focusing on the chemical upcycling of commodity polymers. In 2021, he began his Ph.D. at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Željko Tomović and Dr. Fabian Eisenreich, and received his doctoral degree in 2025. His research focused on the chemical recycling of polycarbonates and the synthesis of novel recyclable polymers. That same year, he joined the SPOT team at VITO as a postdoctoral researcher, where he works on the development of sustainable polymers derived from renewable resources.