ULB - 4MAT Department

The 4MAT Department at ULB focuses on inorganic materials engineering throughout their entire lifecycle - from synthesis and microstructure control to recycling and end-of-life strategies.

Key areas of expertise include:

• Microstructure control (e.g. NDIAMO project in collaboration with Nanomegas & AGC Europe on opalescent glass and electron PDF characterization)

• Additive manufacturing for aeronautics (AEROCT project with X-RIS, MPP, and Any-Shape)

• Recycling and circular composites (COMPOST project with Syensqo on recycled thermoplastic composites)

• Hydrogen storage materials (Hy-FUEL project with Syensqo and VUB, focused on thermoplastics for surface & interface engineering, including metal adhesion and microscopy analysis (USMETREES project on sustainable metallurgy and energy storage).

4MAT collaborates with both large companies and SMEs across Europe and is highly involved in industry-driven research consortia, especially in the context of aerospace and hydrogen.