What if we could recycle CO2, just like glass or paper? CO2 is a major driver of climate change, but what if we could turn this greenhouse gas into something useful? In her research at VITO, Avni Guruji is exploring how to transform CO2 into valuable products, like fuels and industrial gases.

What if you could store your personal data in your own digital vault and control who accesses it? Computer scientist Dore Staquet is working to make this a reality by solving key challenges, like efficiently retrieving data when hospitals or services need it. His goal? Putting you back in control of your data, without sacrificing speed or convenience.

What if we could remove "forever chemicals" from water, without boiling a single drop? PFAS, the notorious "forever chemicals," can linger in groundwater for centuries, posing a major environmental and health challenge. Traditional methods to remove them are energy-intensive and inefficient, but what if there’s a smarter way? Researcher Pieter-Jan Piccard is using machine learning models to design advanced membranes that filter out PFAS and other harmful molecules without the need for boiling.

Every year, millions of tons of plastic break down into micro and nanoplastics, infiltrating our oceans, food, and even the air! Yet these tiny particles remain nearly undetectable. That's why chemist Géraldine Dumont is using a technique to trap, analyze, and identify plastics -even at the nanometer scale- using their unique chemical fingerprints. Her work aims to reveal the true scale of plastic pollution because, as she puts it, "The better we measure, the better we can protect our environment."

Too many lives are lost to cancer because it’s found too late. Current detection methods are slow, costly, and sometimes unreliable. But what if our blood holds the key? Researcher Ehsan Mohammadi (VITO - KU Leuven - imec) is exploring how tiny particles released by our cells can signal early signs of cancer.

In coastal regions, freshwater rivers and the salty sea are locked in a constant tug-of-war. Seawater can creep inland, turning freshwater sources too salty for drinking. That's why Sait Mutlu Karahan (VITO - UGent) is developing a kind of "weather forecast for salt." This could help us predict salt levels in advance, so that we can safely withdraw drinking water from rivers before they become undrinkable.