SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS CONTACT TECHNOLOGY - SUMAT The consortium exists of 2 main research groups: Sustainable Materials Engineering (SUME) and General Chemistry (ALGC). SUME is part of the engineering faculty and includes the lab of Electrochemical and Surface Engineering (SURF) and the lab of Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science (FYSC). ALGC is part of the faculty of Science. The SuMaT project on Sustainable Materials Technology focuses on developing a research platform for advanced characterization and predictive modelling for new hybrid sustainable materials. As materials are fundamental to all technological products, choosing the best material requires innovative strategies, especially in line with the Green Deal policy. Material design impacts its entire lifecycle - from production to recycling - while fast-tracking sustainable materials to market offers economic advantages. Being able to simulate and predict the long-term behaviour is essential for the successful introduction of new materials to the market.
To address present-day challenges, SUME adopts a crossdisciplinary approach to material development, leveraging expertise in metals, polymers, and ceramics. This approach supports predictive modeling based on deep insights into material behavior and properties. The group is creating a platform for the virtual design of sustainable hybrid materials across diverse applications, including construction, robotics, and energy storage. The group is setting up a platform for the (virtual) design of sustainable hybrid materials in diverse application domains (textile reinforced cements for light weight (fire-proof) constructions, geopolymers for civil structures, robotics for manufacturing and personal assistance, smart materials for industrial applications, batteries and capacitors for e-mobility,…). By collaborating with ALGC, the group has expanded its capabilities from continuous modeling to multiscale modeling (e.g., DFT for molecular interfaces) and has integrated AI into corrosion research, aiming to apply it across other material domains.
GROUP OF EXCELLENCE IN APPLIED RESEARCH - GEAR
ADVANCED CHARACTERIZATION AND PREDICTIVE MODELLING FOR NEW HYBRID SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
ir. Anneke Hunninck Business Developer anneke.hunninck@vub.be 0473/26 27 50