ERC Proof of concept grant for Wiebe de Vos

Wiebe de Vos has been awarded a Proof of Concept grant. This top-up funding is awarded to ERC grantees to explore the innovation potential of their scientific discoveries and bring the results of their frontier research closer to the market.

Wiebe De Vos - SHIPMENT

 Membrane technology is a very sustainable approach to separation, as it requires much less energy than conventional separation approaches. However, the sustainable image of membranes becomes substantially tarnished when you realize that nearly all membranes are prepared using large quantities of toxic and unsustainable aprotic solvents (NMP, DMF, etc.).

 An Aqueous Phase Separation (APS) technique has recently been proposed by Wiebe de Vos and his team, as a green and sustainable alternative to producing membranes. In the ERC-PoC project SHIPMENT, this APS approach will be pushed further to improve the membrane performance and to allow the fabrication of competitive membranes in a highly sustainable manner.

Commercial or societal potential

Proof of Concept grants, worth €150,000 each, aim to help researchers who are currently conducting or have recently conducted ERC funded research, to explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC funded work. The grants can be used in various ways, for example, to explore business opportunities, prepare patent applications or verify the practical viability of scientific concepts.