From Lab to Market: Nils Wuytens of VITO4STARTERS on Catalysing Europe’s Circular and Climate Tech Innovation
Turning scientific breakthroughs into scalable circular businesses requires more than great technology — it takes capital, infrastructure, and the right ecosystem around founders. Ahead of Tech Tour Circular 2026 in Ghent this coming May 11-12, we spoke with Nils Wuytens, Programme Director of VITO4STARTERS, about how their integrated accelerator model helps startups bridge the gap between lab-scale innovation and industrial application. In this interview, Nils shares insights on building investable circular deep tech ventures, leveraging world-class research infrastructure, and why ecosystem-driven investment programmes like Tech Tour Circular play a critical role in accelerating real-world impact.
TT: How do you see the value Tech Tour Circular creates, and how does it align with your organisation's mission to accelerate sustainable deep tech ventures?
NW: The Tech Tour Circular investment programme provides a vital bridge between promising innovators and the European investment community. This is exactly the kind of ecosystem connection that helps early-stage technologies grow into impactful solutions.
For VITO4STARTERS, the Tech Tour ecosystem approach aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate sustainable deep tech ventures that drive the transition towards a climate-neutral, circular economy. The curated matchmaking between startups, investors, corporates and public actors complements our approach of de-risking early-stage technologies and supporting scale-ups. Through Tech Tour, we amplify our reach and help entrepreneurs increase their visibility, connect with key partners, and attract the investment needed to bring lab innovations to market. It’s a crucial step in turning scientific excellence into real-world impact. Tech Tour is also a valuable asset in creating our tailored deal flow for our accelerator program.
TT: Your programme combines funding, technological expertise and strategic support — a powerful mix that goes well beyond a classic accelerator. Can you share how this integrated model helps founders in circularity and sustainability-focused sectors accelerate faster and build stronger businesses?
NW: VITO4STARTERS goes beyond traditional accelerator programmes. It’s a bridge between cutting-edge technological research, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and strategic business guidance. We combine early-stage funding with access to VITO’s world-class infrastructure, technical expertise, and extensive industry network. This approach helps startups validate technologies faster, build robust business models, and attract follow-on investment.
Especially in circular and sustainability-driven sectors, where deep tech validation can be capital-intensive and complex, this integrated support model is key to reducing time-to-impact and de-risking growth. VITO4STARTERS was designed to meet the unique needs of deep tech founders active in domains such as circularity, energy, and sustainable materials. By blending our research capabilities with strategic and financial support, we help founders bridge the notorious “valley of death” between lab-scale innovation and industrial application. The result: faster technology validation, stronger ventures, and scalable impact.
TT: VITO4STARTERS offers startups access to VITO’s unique labs, test infrastructure and research experts. How do these resources set your programme apart from others in Europe, and what kind of breakthroughs have you seen emerge from this collaboration between startups and VITO’s scientists?
NW: Few accelerators in Europe can offer what VITO4STARTERS does, which is providing direct access to a leading research organisation with state-of-the-art labs, pilot installations and scientific expertise. Through our programme, startups can work hand-in-hand with VITO researchers to co-develop, test and validate technologies under real-world conditions.
Our facilities span advanced infrastructure for bio-based materials, carbon capture and reuse, battery technology, water reuse, and digital sustainability. What truly sets us apart is the depth of collaboration: our scientists don’t just open doors to labs; they actively engage with founders in solving complex technical challenges.
This approach has already led to tangible breakthroughs. Multiple deep tech ventures have worked closely with VITO experts to advance CO₂ conversion, battery recycling, and biotechnological processes — moving from proof-of-concept to demonstration scale in record time. The cross-pollination between entrepreneurial agility and VITO’s applied research consistently accelerates innovation cycles and boosts technology readiness levels. Few accelerators do what we do.
TT: The circular economy is one of your key investment domains — from bio-based materials to smart energy and water reuse. What trends or technologies are you most excited about right now, and where do you see the biggest potential for startups to make a real difference?
NW: At VITO, we see the circular economy not as a separate pillar, but as the engine of a broader industrial transformation that unites circularity, bioeconomy, and digital innovation. These domains are increasingly intertwined; shaping how regions and industries collaborate to build a competitive, climate-neutral Europe. Our current focus is on three strategic value chains that anchor this transition: circular chemistry and plastics, low-carbon and bio-based construction materials, and critical and strategic raw materials. Together, they form the backbone of Europe’s next industrial wave, one driven by renewable carbon, material reuse, and system efficiency.
A key enabler of this transformation is the convergence of digitalisation and circularity. Technologies such as AI, digital twins, and material passports enable real-time insight into material flows and environmental performance. They turn sustainability data into actionable intelligence, hereby supporting investment decisions, regulatory alignment, and closed-loop operations. Digital circularity is what will make the circular economy scalable and investable.
In parallel, bioeconomy is emerging as a cornerstone of circular industry. Flanders, with its strong R&D infrastructure and industrial clusters, is uniquely positioned to convert biomass, industrial residues, and captured CO₂ into new materials and chemicals. Advances in biopolymers, carbon capture and utilisation, and bio-derived construction components are creating entirely new, low-carbon markets while reducing fossil dependence and strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy.
The next leap will come from transregional collaboration. Under the European Clean Industrial Deal, Flanders is shaping a West-European Transregional Circularity Hub, in which we’re connecting industrial regions across Belgium, the Netherlands, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Northern France. These hubs act as living laboratories, where industry, governments, and research partners jointly accelerate circular innovation, infrastructure planning, and market creation.
The startups that will make the biggest impact are those combining technological excellence with system value, for instance by transforming waste streams into new resources, enabling data-driven resource optimisation, or scaling bio-based production. VITO supports them with scientific validation, data modelling, and access to industrial ecosystems, helping turn sustainability performance into a tangible competitive advantage.
TT: Finally, as we look ahead to the 2026 edition of Tech Tour Circular in Ghent, what can startups expect from meeting the VITO4STARTERS team there, and what advice would you give to founders hoping to join your programme in the coming year?
NW: At Tech Tour Circular 2026, startups can expect to meet a dynamic team from VITO4STARTERS. We are a partner that speaks both the language of science and entrepreneurship. We’ll be there to explore collaborations, discuss funding and validation opportunities, and help founders understand how science-based innovation can accelerate their business growth and impact.
Our advice: come well-prepared. Take time to understand where VITO’s expertise can boost your journey. Whether that’s in advanced materials, sustainable chemistry, energy systems, water reuse, or digital tools for circular design. Knowing where the synergies lie will make your engagement far more effective.
Arrive with a clear sustainability vision, a solid technical foundation, and a scalable business logic that connects your innovation to real market needs. The strongest founders are those who can articulate how their technology transforms sustainability challenges into market opportunities. At VITO4STARTERS, we’re looking for entrepreneurs ready to co-develop, scale, and turn innovation into measurable impact. Together we move the needle on Europe’s circular transformation.
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Meet Nils and the VITO4STARTERS team in person at Tech Tour Circular 2026 on 11-12 May in Ghent, where Europe’s leading circular startups, investors and corporates come together to shape the next wave of sustainable industry. Discover how science-backed innovation, smart capital and the right partnerships can accelerate your journey — and be part of Europe’s circular transformation.
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