Bart Klaasen

How did you find your way to Umicore?

After my Materials Science studies, I decided to do a PhD because I loved research. Umicore made me a proposal to do this via a Baekeland mandate. That means you do academic research while working on an industrial research project, under the supervision of someone from the corporate world. I did part of the research in the R&D department at the Olen site. It was a very valuable practical experience. Unfortunately, the research project was terminated after about a year because the process upscaling we were aiming for no longer seemed economically viable. Luckily, Umicore helped me a lot to think about how to redirect the PhD and eventually complete it successfully. It boosted my trust in the company and so afterwards the logical step was to work here as a project leader.

Can you describe your current position at Umicore?

As a Senior Scientist I lead research projects on the development of metallurgical processes, mainly to refine raw materials for batteries, including cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, etc. We also do research into battery recycling. On the one hand, my job involves scientific research, and on the other I do project management. We work with a lot of people, both R&D colleagues and others from outside.

What do you like about your job?

I get a lot of energy from trying new things and figuring out technical solutions. There are various ways of doing this: monitoring the tests underway in the lab, analyzing results and brainstorming with colleagues.

Our R&D department in Olen is a great place to do this. It’s one of the world’s biggest metallurgy labs. An international environment with people with widely varying fields of expertise and backgrounds. Our infrastructure ranks among the best in the world and we have everything we need in-house to do this sort of research to a high standard.

What do you like about working at Umicore?

Umicore is a company that grows constantly, driven by technology. It's a really nice environment to work in because of the many opportunities here. And I like working for an international company that at the same time is firmly rooted in Belgium. A lot of our expertise is still in Belgium, most of the decisions are still taken here and as an employee I feel involved in that. Lastly, I think Umicore’s socially relevant mission is just so valuable.

What do you look forward to when you set off to work in the morning?

The times when I suddenly get an aha moment, either just sitting at my computer or brainstorming with colleagues. Some days that doesn’t happen, unfortunately, but other days it does. And I look forward to the times when we can decide to build further on our R&D results and take a project to a pilot installation or industrialization.

What has been the highlight of your time at Umicore so far?

A couple of years ago I went to the US for a month as part of Umicore’s JUMP program. In this exchange program a production engineer and I swapped jobs for a month. It was a unique opportunity to gain experience in another role in an operational context, at another business unit.

Any advice for newcomers?

In a big company like Umicore, some things often don’t go as fast as you’d like. When you’re young and enthusiastic, don’t let that put you off! The advantage of working for a big company like Umicore is that there are plenty of resources and opportunities to get things done. So make the best use of the freedom you are given!