Wim Van Opstal

Research Team Leader Circular Business & Society

Wim Van Opstal holds degrees in economics and commercial sciences and brings over 20 years of experience in applied research at the intersection of entrepreneurship, social policy analysis, and sustainable development. As a senior researcher at VITO, he contributes to the advancement of circular business models and their enabling ecosystems. 

His work spans projects on circular social entrepreneurship, just circular transitions, cooperative models in housing and smart grids, and circular strategies for solar photovoltaics, textiles, and reversible bonding techniques. Wim also supports companies through coaching trajectories, involving business case analysis, backcasting, survey-based research, and value chain mapping. 

He is an experienced speaker and facilitator, regularly delivering keynote lectures, workshops, bootcamps, and company coaching. In addition to his role at VITO, Wim is affiliated with the Maastricht Sustainability Institute (Maastricht University). He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Circular Economy and is a member of the international scientific commission on social and cooperative economics of CIRIEC.

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Publications by Wim Van Opstal

Wim Van Opstal on this website

Projectupdate
Materialen 16 October 2023

The circular potential of reversible bonding: the smartphone as an application

With reversible bonding techniques, bonded components and products can be more easily repaired or recycled. VITO investigated the circular potential of reversible bonding when applied to a smartphone battery. While the environmental impact is clearly positive, the financial aspect is not straightforward within traditional sales models.
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Projectupdate
Energie 2 October 2023

Circular business models can reduce financial barriers to installing PV systems

Solar energy is a renewable energy source that plays a significant role in decarbonizing our energy mix. While the installation of PV systems has greatly increased over the past decade, many households face substantial financial, technical, or legal hurdles when considering investing in solar energy. As part of the CIRCUSOL project, VITO investigated whether circular business models could help lower these barriers.
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Projectupdate
Materialen 28 March 2023

Better understanding of the relation between circular strategies and startups

In cooperation with Start it @KBC and Circular Flanders, VITO set up a survey to sound out startups in the circular economy about obstacles and levers. This survey ran from autumn 2021 to spring 2022. The results were published in the Journal of Clear Production.
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