Partners

The University of Liège is home to more than 3,500 researchers, scientists and technicians. Together, they have the resources to build the foundations of a revitalized economy based on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, through the creation of spin-offs, jobs and economic opportunities.

ULiège - RISE

RISE plays a part in this objective by carefully guiding the promising ideas of the University to the marketplace through the process of technology transfer.

Furthermore, RISE is committed to delivering significant value to Society. This is achieved by connecting breakthrough public discoveries with the needs of the industries. It is about developing partnerships with the right companies that will enable research to be transformed into products that will benefit both people and the economy.

ULiège - CERM

The Center for Education and Research on Macromolecules (CERM) is a research group of about 35-40 researchers and is worldwide renown in polymer science, more particularly in controlled/living polymerization techniques, and in the design of novel multifunctional (nano)materials and nanocomposites. Controlled radical polymerization (CRP) of vinyl monomers, ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactones, cyclic phosphoesters and ethylene oxide, and electropolymerization are the main polymerization techniques investigated by CERM. They are exploited for the development of advanced applications in the field of multifunctional coatings and composites, biomaterials, energy, etc.

CERM is also very well equipped with a platform of reactors working in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) allowing to carry out solvent-free syntheses in this medium but also to process some innovative materials. All main characterization tools for polymers and composites are available at CERM.

ULiège - CITOS

Research interests at CITOS (Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis) revolve around synthetic organic chemistry but are multidisciplinary in essence. CITOS aims to design and apply new integrated processes for the manufacturing of high value-added chemicals, both on micro- and mesoscale. Since its creation in 2013, CITOS has facilitated the development of a large international network both with academic and industrial partners. The lab is licensed for the manufacturing of Schedule I-V substances.

Within In Flow, Maastricht University will execute the following prime roles:

1) actively participate in identifying and (co)developing trajectories, engaging regional public-private market-driven R&D and innovation;

2) defining (bio)functionality (biosafety, biocompatibility) and applicability of the developed materials (carriers, chemical etc.) in an iterative way with all actors involved;

3) contribute to the portfolio and realisation of an open technological platform in support of euregional innovation;

Maastricht University currently already actively initiates and engages public-private collaborations in a successful and result-driven manner. The Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus (BMHC) of the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences will actively promote options for entrepreneurship, valorization of knowledge, and will help in increasing accessibility of high-level knowledge, skill, and talents available within In Flow. Furthermore, BMHC and the Department of Physiology (FHML, CARIM) will support the entire value creation chain, from idea through proof of principle and proof of concept up to and including market introduction. Likewise, the Department of Physiology is highly experienced in scientific and validation-driven cross-border collaborations, amongst others with the other partners of In Flow, and enthusiastically looks forward to elaborate these alliances. The Department of Physiology has an extensive track record on the development and execution of biocompatibility assays, and sustains a high-end, innovation-driven infrastructure and a large database of reference materials/cells. This infrastructure is not only high-end, but also manned by experienced and flexible knowledge workers that facilitate suppleness and speed when it comes to iterative testing of new materials with unknown features that are foreseen for new applications (meaning that new bioassays for biofunctionality will have to be developed). Next to this, the Department of Physiology is highly experienced in state-of-the-art R&D on (amongst others) Tissue Engineering, demonstrating skills in multidisciplinary teaming (communication, linking pins) and working with material-cell combinations at high quality.

SIRRIS, the R&D center for the technological industry in Belgium, performs applied research and development for industrial partners, to increase their competitive position on the international market through technological innovation. More specifically, in phase with the framework of this project, SIRRIS is specialized in product development in polymer and metal materials, in the framework of industrial or R&D projects. In particular, SIRRIS has recently developed various (micro-)fluidic chips, integrating surface textures, fluidic channels and/or sensing functions for chemical and biomedical projects. Among the most recent achievements, one can mention: low friction surface texturing of polymer materials and associated metal tools, microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic kits in polymer, development of micro-reactor parts by metal injection molding, direct machining of reactive stages for chemical reactors, integrated sensors in channels by microprinting, development of monitoring fluid cells with integrated pressure sensors….

Foreseen work will rely on internal know-how and facilities available at SIRRIS, among which: CAD and simulation softwares for tool and product conception, micro-milling and EDM platforms for prototyping and tool manufacturing, micro-injection molding (including metal injection molding), selective material deposition at micro-scale, printed electronics, Ni electroforming bench, bonding and assembly capacities, 3D printers, and associated metrology.

DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials has many years of proven expertise in the development of new processes for the production of building blocks for active and interactive materials.
The development of innovative building blocks implies a broad range of chemical und synthetic challenges, which are addressed within the department of Synthiofluidic, particularly by means of microfluidic and self-assembly techniques.
Microfluidics allows controlling the behaviour of gas and liquid in the smallest possible space, while self-assembly processes can be used to arrange particles independently into superordinate structures. Additive manufacturing, with resolutions down to the nanometre range, also plays an important role in the process development. These key competencies are embedded in a broad and well-established expertise of DWI in polymer synthesis and characterization.