The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded the HyCARB consortium a €45 million grant to revolutionize the chemical industry through innovative, sustainable technologies. The consortium brings together nine universities, five universities of applied sciences (hogescholen), three research institutes, and thirty companies. The HyCARB project aims to develop new chemical processes and value chains by converting
Bert Weckhuysen Has Been appointed as Honorary Professor at Shanghai University
On July 11, 2025, Bert Weckhuysen was awarded an honorary professorship at Shanghai University. The conferment ceremony, held in Shanghai (China), opened with welcoming remarks by Professor Chunwei Dong from the International Office of Shanghai University. Following this, Professor Dengsong Zhang, Dean of the Faculty of Science, presented Bert with a commemorative plaque in honor
SUNER-C Project Concludes After Building European Solar Fuels Community
Launched in 2022, the European project SUNER-C has successfully built a dedicated community and ecosystem for solar fuels and chemicals in Europe. This EU-funded CSA (Coordination and Support Action) received 4M€ funding to enable the creation of an innovation ecosystem, develop a technological roadmap, and prepare for a large-scale research and innovation (R&I) initiative on
The Refinery of the Future Receives Incubator Grant
The Refinery of the Future: A Living Lab for Circular Campus Transformation, led by Bert Weckhuysen, has received an incubator grant. This educational initiative aims to transform Utrecht Science Park into a real-life testing ground for circular innovation. The initial team working on the project includes Alessia Broccoli, Hannah Thuijs, Joris Janssens, Thomas Hartman, Christos
PhD Defense Robin Vogel: Once Upon a Lifetime: Dynamics of Raman Scattering and Luminescence of Solid Catalysts at Work
Congratulations to Dr. Robin Vogel for an Excellent PhD Defense, who successfully defended his PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen and Dr. Freddy Rabouw. In his PhD thesis, Robin has explored how industrial catalysts used in hydrocarbon conversion become deactivated by carbon deposits. Using time-resolved spectroscopy, he studied how laser light interacts with catalysts
Bert Weckhuysen Presented with 2025 Michel Boudart Award at North American Catalysis Society Meeting
At the 29th North American Catalysis Society Meeting (NAM29), held in June 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia (USA), Professor Bert Weckhuysen was formally presented with the 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. This biennial award, jointly administered by the European Federation of Catalysis Societies (EFCATS) and the North American Catalysis Society (NACS), honors
Sibylle Schwartmann Received the Green Chemistry Best PhD Talk Award at the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries
We congratulate Sibylle Schwartmann on receiving the Best PhD Talk award of RSC Green Chemistry at the International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries (RRB 2025) in Turku/Åbo, Finland, June 2-4, 2025, for her lecture “Electro-Oxidation of β-O-4 Model Compounds Monitored in a Chamber-Separated Cell via In Situ ATR-IR Spectroscopy”. Sibylle presented her research on
Mariangela Biggiero Received the Best Poster Prize at the Electrochemistry National Symposium
We congratulate Mariangela Biggiero on receiving the best poster prize at the Electrochemistry National Symposium for her poster “Development of in situ ATR-IR spectroscopy for interfacial characterization of industrial catalysts and binders during CO2 electroreduction”. In this poster, Mariangela presented an in situ Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy approach that bridges fundamental characterization techniques
Bert Weckhuysen Receives Prestigious 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis
Bert Weckhuysen has been awarded the 2025 Michel Boudart Award for the Advancement of Catalysis. The Michel Boudart Award recognizes and encourages individual contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism and active sites involved in catalytic phenomena and to the development of new methods or concepts that advance the understanding and/or practice of heterogeneous catalysis.
Bert Weckhuysen Delivers Inaugural Francqui Chair Lecture at University of Antwerp
On April 23, Bert Weckhuysen presented his inaugural lecture as the recipient of the Francqui Chair at the University of Antwerp. The event began with a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Sabine van Doorslaer, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, followed by Prof. Dr. Herwig Leirs, Rector of the University, who shared a brief overview
Catalysis Connected 2025: Envisioning the Refinery of the Future
On April 16-17, approximately 140 scientists from across Europe convened in Rotterdam for the third edition of Catalysis Connected. Following successful previous gatherings in Utrecht (2019) and Veldhoven (2022), this year’s conference continued its mission of exploring catalysis as an enabling science while strengthening vital connections between academia, industry, and society. The event was jointly
A Reunion in Rotterdam: 25 Years at Utrecht University and 100 PhD Students of Bert Weckhuysen
In the evening of Tuesday, April 15, around 140 former and present PhD students, postdocs, and colleagues of Bert Weckhuysen gathered at Loetje in Rotterdam to celebrate two milestones: Bert’s 25th anniversary at Utrecht University, where he started as Full Professor in 2000, and his 100th PhD promotion in Utrecht with Jim de Ruiter’s PhD