Posts by Nick Verdonck

SuperNova Conference kondigt tweede lading topsprekers aan

Donderdag 19 april 2018 — Eind september trapt Antwerpen het eerste SuperNova festival af, een ode aan technologie, innovatie en ondernemerschap. Na eerder onder andere Seth Godin en Philip Ingelbrecht (oprichter van Shazam) te hebben aangekondigd als sprekers, maakt de organisatie opnieuw een paar indrukwekkende namen bekend. Zijn ook van de partij: de co-founder van Twitter Christopher Isaac “Biz” Stone , levende technologielegende en Google-coryfee Ray Kurzweil, MIT-topper en bio-architecte Neri Oxman, erkend cyborg Neil Harbisson en het Zweedse excentrieke agency Snask.

De conferentie werpt een blik op welke technologie en trends  de wereld van morgen zullen sturen en geeft een uniek overzicht in de bedrijven en creatieve ondernemingen van de toekomst. De SuperNova Conference maakt deel uit van het SuperNova Festival en is een initiatief van Flanders DC en Scale-Ups.eu met de steun van de Vlaamse overheid. Early Bird-tickets zijn nu al verkrijgbaar via www.supernovafest.eu.

De toekomst van technologie en ondernemen
De SuperNova Conference wist een waslijst aan briljante sprekers te strikken. In dat rijtje spreekt ook de verscheidenheid aan toonaangevende namen, van de technologie-, marketing-, architectuur-, muziek-, ingenieurs- en academische wereld tot de verbeelding. Een massa intrigerende en verrijkende visies in lijn met het centrale thema: ‘Tomorrow is Unstoppable’.

Om verder te lezen, klik hier: https://press.ketchumbrussels.be/mede-oprichter-van-twitter-technologielegende-ray-kurzweil-en-een-cyborg-tekenen-present-in-antwerpen#

Waarom dromen we? En dromen blinde mensen ook in beelden? We staan elke dag met z’n allen vast in het verkeer, maar hoe lossen we die files eigenlijk op? En hoe helpen we honger de wereld uit?

We staan er misschien niet vaak bij stil, maar wetenschap is overal om ons heen.

Wat is jouw vraag voor de wetenschap?

Stel ze op: vraagvoordewetenschap.be

The Belgian Business Awards for the Environment reward small and big companies for their effort and commitment to sustainable development. These awards, which are handed out every two years, put companies in the spotlight who have managed to combine economic activities and care for the environment thanks to green innovations.

This year, the Golden Award went to the Plant-On-A-Truck project (recovery and re-use of raw materials) of InOpSys and Janssen Pharmaceutica on the one hand, and to the Circular Economy Project of Janssen Pharmaceutica and De Neef Chemical Processing on the other hand.

Why did they win? Find out the full story in this short movie and in this article of VBO.

The award ceremony took place yesterday March 12 at 4 p.m. at VBO in Brussels. None other than Kris Peeters (Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Labour, Economic Affairs and Consumers) and Marie-Christine Marghem (Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development) handed out the awards to the, by an independent jury selected, winners.

Marie-Christine Marghem: “Who chooses a sustainable company today, is taking care of the future. The future of our children and of our companies. Tomorrow you will make the real difference.”

Kris Peeters: “The implementation of sustainable economy is a long-term operation. It takes a lot of conviction, ambition, perseverance, and good examples who deserve to be followed.”

With view on circular economy, recycling of products after use is key. Currently merely 30% of our plastic and textile waste is being recycled. The vast majority of recyclable products are actually one component materials, circumventing the necessity of a separation step.

Coated and laminated materials are difficult to recycle because of their hybrid nature: the coating layer is difficult to separate from the bulk material or the coating layer can be cured to prevent melting or dissolution in conventional solvents.

The current routes for end-of-life of “complex”-composite products are mainly focusing on burning or converting into RDF pellets (Refuse Driven Fuel). The energy content and presence of a fusible fraction (carrier and possibly also coating) explain why this waste disposal method is widely spread. Another commonly used route is mechanical reduction via shredders and subsequent use as filler material.

The project RECYCOAT aims to investigate various technologies to separate the different layers present in complex coated or laminated (multilayer) materials (in particular textiles and plastics). The focus is on developing a good design (eco-design) of the multi-layered products and/or altering the chemistry of the coating or adhesive layer. The material should be developed in such a way that maximum separation (i.e. recycling) is made possible: the different layers present in the complex material must be completely separable from each other.

An example of such a technology is an adapted adhesive layer of a carpet allowing separation in boiling water. After 30 seconds the secondary backing is split off.

This collective project, funded by Catalisti, started beginning of March and will run for two years. Companies are still welcome to join the user committee of the project. For more information, please contact us.

Ine De Vilder (textile) – ivi@centexbel.be

Isabel De Schrijver (plastic) – ids@centexbel.be

Crain and Plastics Recyclers Europe are pleased to announce the finalists for the inaugural Plastics Recycling Awards Europe!

The shortlist for the first Plastics Recycling Awards Europe has been published. The winners will be announced on the second day of The Plastics Recycling Show Europe taking place at the RAI Amsterdam in The Netherlands 24-25 April 2018.

The five different award categories are Recycled Plastic Consumer Lifestyle Product of the Year, Best Building & Construction Product, Best Recycled Plastic Packaging Product, Best Technology Innovation in Plastics Recycling and Plastics Recycling Ambassador of the Year.

“The standard of entries we have received for the inaugural Plastics Recycling Awards Europe has been outstandingly high,” said Ton Emans, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE). “The finalists demonstrate the vast array of consumer and industrial applications in which recycled plastics and recycling technology are being used. They make a huge contribution towards conserving resources, reducing CO2 and sustaining the circular economy.”

For more information and to view the finalists click here: http://prseventeurope.com/prse2018/en/page/finalists

Het Imec Technology Forum Belgium (23-24 mei, 2018 in Antwerpen)

is dé internationale conferentie over nano- en digitale technologie.

Het thema dit jaar: New perspectives make the impossible possible

Ervaar hoe de combinatie van nanotech en digitale technologie het onmogelijke mogelijk maakt.

Bekijk de dingen vanuit een nieuw perspectief.

• 60 presentaties van topexperten uit de industrie en imec
• 8 ‘detailed perspectives’ rond specifieke technologiedomeinen
• 55 live demos over nieuwe technologieën en toepassingen
• Netwerking met 1.800 nationale en internationale leiders uit de ICT-wereld

Benieuwd naar wat de toekomst voor jou in petto heeft? Bekijk het volledige programma en registreer nu op www.itf2018.com/belgium

Catalisti leden genieten van 20% korting op de registratiekosten. Contacteer info@catalisti.be voor uw kortingscode.