ENGIE and EnergyVille strengthen their joint pursuit of innovative energy technologies with renewal of collaboration agreement
Genk, March 13, 2025 – Following previous successful collaborations, ENGIE has once again sealed a three-year collaboration agreement with EnergyVille, the energy expertise center of KU Leuven, VITO, imec, and UHasselt. Belgian and international experts from ENGIE and EnergyVille will continue to join forces to address specific research challenges in the energy sector. This renewed agreement further underscores both parties’ shared ambition to accelerate the energy transition through research and innovation and drive the transition to a carbon-neutral future.
Since the beginning of their partnership, ENGIE and EnergyVille have been working closely together to research new technologies and apply them in real-world settings. Their focus areas include energy efficiency, renewable energy, green molecules, and smart energy systems. To ensure the structural continuation of this productive collaboration, ENGIE and EnergyVille are again signing a three-year agreement this month, marking the start of a series of new research projects.
Key Research Topics
Experts from Laborelec and Lab CRIGEN – the Belgian and French R&D centers of the ENGIE Group – and the researchers from KU Leuven, VITO, imec, and UHasselt will collaborate on the following research topics:
- Energy efficiency and material circularity: How can we prevent dust and sand buildup on solar parks? How can we convert aging steam-based district heating networks into efficient low-temperature heating grids?
- Renewable energy: How can we most effectively combine renewable energy sources? How can we create synergies between solar energy production and other activities, such as agriculture? What impact does climate change have on the yield of wind energy? How can offshore wind farms be connected to high-voltage direct current (HVDC) grids?
- Green molecules: Which technologies are best suited for CO₂ capture, green hydrogen production, and energy-to-molecule conversion?
- Energy supply flexibility: How can we make our existing and future homes more sustainable? How can local energy generation and consumption better respond to fluctuations in the energy market?
A strong partnership
Jan Mertens, Chief Science Officer at ENGIE, states: “Thanks to the multidisciplinary collaboration between the ENGIE experts and EnergyVille researchers, we can swiftly address the technological challenges of the energy transition and quickly test the latest scientific insights in real-life operational conditions in our global installations. It’s a true win-win, and also a great recognition of the vast expertise present in the Belgian energy sector and our academic and research institutions.”
“ENGIE collaborates with only a select number of partners worldwide in the field of energy research. We are honored that ENGIE, as a major global player, appreciates the pragmatic way in which EnergyVille can address their research questions,” adds Gerrit Jan Schaeffer, General Director of EnergyVille. “This collaboration also provides us with valuable insights into the direction and needs that should guide our research efforts.”
Signing of the agreement
On behalf of ENGIE, the collaboration agreement was signed by Olivier Sala (Vice President Research & Innovation), Jan Mertens (Chief Science Officer ENGIE Research & Innovation), Luc Goossens (Managing Director ENGIE Laborelec), and Philippe De Raedemaeker (Scientific Director ENGIE Laborelec). Representing EnergyVille, the agreement was signed by Paul Van Dun (General Manager KU Leuven Research & Development Central Management), Koenraad Debackere (Executive Director KU Leuven Research & Development), Inge Neven (CEO VITO), Paul Heremans (Senior Fellow imec), and Bernard Vanheusden (Rector UHasselt).
