SIM² Welcome

SIM² KU Leuven (Sustainable Inorganic Materials Management) is an interdisciplinary research cluster at KU Leuven, which addresses the European and global demand for more cleantech innovation and research on resource recovery and recycling.

Solvometallurgical recovery of metals from SmCo magnets

A solvometallurgical route for recycling of SmCo permanent magnets was developed by researchers from the SOLVOMET Group (SIM² KU Leuven). The method is based on non-aqueous solvent extraction to minimize water consumption.

Meet our SIM² KU Leuven researcher: Prof. Philippe Muchez

Philippe Muchez is professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the KU Leuven and dean of the Faculty of Science. His is head of the Ore Geology and Geofluids research unit and leads the ETN SULTAN project.

Meet our SIM² KU Leuven researcher: Dr. Niels Hulsbosch

Niels Hulsbosch is a FWO postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Geology. He is a member of the research group of Prof. Philippe Muchez who leads the SIM² research line on Geological exploration and advanced resource characterization.

Looking back on the DEMETER Concluding Symposium

On February 5-7, 2019, the DEMETER Concluding Symposium took place in Leuven. Around 70 experts from 38 organisations and 11 countries participated in the debate about the future of Electric Vehicles and the role of rare-earth permanent magnet phases and motors.

Why restricting lead (Pb) metallurgy is a bad idea

Recently the use of lead is being called into question by some policy makers. To provide a firm metallurgical background on its crucial role in the Circular Economy, the EU ETN SOCRATES team has just published a new Policy Brief.

How circular is the household metal packaging cycle?

Researchers at SIM² KU Leuven & VVSG investigated the circularity of the household metal packaging cycle in Flanders. They found remarkable discrepancies between experimental (sorting) data and reported literature data.