Researchers

Affiliation: Geological Survey of Belgium (RBINS)

Research background: Showing how important geology is, is introducing it to other disciplines. That is why Kris Piessens works with economists, social scientists and engineers aiming for a clean and fair future. Underneath he still is the passionate hard-rock geologist that loves structural deformation.

Role in DIAMONDS: Especially for the case-studies that involve the deeper subsurface (WP2 and 3), Kris provides the geological expertise to correctly grasp geological reality and uncertainty through the prior geological model. He also stays involved in applying that model, tracking how the elements of the natural geological design influence interdisciplinary conclusions.

Contact: Kris.Piessens@naturalsciences.be​

Affiliation: Geological Survey of Belgium (RBINS)

Research background: Kris has a Master in Geology from KU Leuven. While working at the RBINS-GSB, since 2007, he obtained a PhD in Geology on the topic of CO₂ capture and storage. He currently leads the GeoEnergy team at the GSB, with research on CO₂ and hydrogen storage, deep geothermal and sustainable subsurface development. Kris’ research often focusses on joining geological characteristics and uncertainties in techno-economic and other analyses.

Role in DIAMONDS: Kris is involved in the collaboration of building geological cases for modelling in WP2 and 3. He also co-supervises the PhD research of José Rodriguez and Mujtaba Masroor.

Contact: kwelkenhuysen@naturalsciences.be

Affiliation: Geological Survey of Belgium (RBINS) & Ghent University | Department of Geology

Research Background: Holding a Master's degree in sustainable land management (Groundwater track) from Ghent University, along with a civil engineering degree (UIS) and a postgraduate degree in environmental geotechnics (UDES) from Colombia, Jose has extensive industry experience in modeling and complex simulations for geotechnical and hydrogeological solutions. Currently, he is conducting research at the Geological Survey of Belgium while pursuing a Ph.D. at Ghent University's Geology Department.

Role in DIAMONDS: Jose contributes to WP 2 and 3 with the focus on geological gas storage in the deep subsurface and the interactions of geological gas storage and geothermal activities.

Contact: Email: jrodriguez@naturalsciences.be

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Business and Economics & Geological Survey of Belgium (RBINS)

Research background: Tine has a PhD in Applied Economics (2012, UHasselt) and she was dr.-assistant at the UHasselt from 2013 until 2016. In 2016 she was granted an FWO post-doctoral fellowship for which she executed the research activities at the UAntwerp as host institution. From 2012 until 2020, she was also an invited scientist at the RBINS-GSB. In 2020, her strong partnership with the Geological Survey of Belgium has been consolidated in a FED-tWIN profile named Geological Economics in which Environmental Economics and Earth Sciences are united to focus research activities on the sustainable management of the subsurface.

Role in DIAMONDS: Coordinator

Contact: tine.compernolle@uantwerpen.be​

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Business and Economics

Research background: After earning a Master’s degree in Business Engineering and a PhD in Applied Economics at the University of Antwerp, Hanne continued her journey as a postdoctoral researcher in Antwerp. Her expertise includes techno-economic and life cycle assessments for emerging technologies, with a focus on applying Real Options Analysis to address uncertainty and flexibility in decision-making. Her research spans diverse topics, including CO₂ storage and utilization, sustainable and equitable fashion, and sustainable subsurface management.

Role in DIAMONDS: Hanne leads WP5a, focusing on evaluating the economic impacts of subsurface development scenarios. She is developing a Real Options Analysis model to guide investment decisions in subsurface activities, accounting for (market, geological and technical) uncertainties while providing decision-makers with the flexibility to delay actions. Additionally, Hanne is developing a Real Options Game, designed to analyze strategic interactions among potential investors in competitive and uncertain environments.

Contact: hanne.lamberts-vanassche@uantwerpen.be

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Business and Economics

Research background: After obtaining a Master's degree in Bioscience Engineering with a major in Environmental Technology at the KULeuven, Hannelore pursued a PhD in the research group of Sustainable Energy, Air & Water Technology. Her quest for sustainability now brought her to the research group of Environmental Economics at the UAntwerp & Ghent University to help develop a method to assess sustainability in the subsurface.

Role in DIAMONDS: Hannelore works on WP1, integrating the knowledge obtained in the other WPs into a principles, criteria & indicators (PC&I) framework for the sustainability assessment of activities in the subsurface.

Contact: Hannelore.peeters2@uantwerpen.be​

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Applied Engineering

Research background: Matthias is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with a strong focus on prospective modeling and the integration of environmental and economic analysis. With a background in civil engineering and architecture, he transitioned into academia to pursue a PhD at the intersection of engineering and LCA. As a postdoc, he has expanded his expertise by engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly in environmental economics and technological innovation. His work seeks to develop integrated sustainability assessment frameworks that go beyond traditional approaches, embedding multiple perspectives to provide a more holistic understanding of emerging technologies.

Role in DIAMONDS: Matti works on WP5b, which focusses on environmental assessment. In this context, he is one of the supervisors of Alexander Van Overmeiren.

Contact: matthias.buyle@uantwerpen.be​

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Applied Engineering

Research background: Alexander’s story is a story of interdisciplinarity. He obtained a Master’s degree in Bioscience Engineering with a major in Agricultural sciences at the University of Ghent. In an earlier career he was a secondary school teacher. While teaching Physics, Chemistry and other natural sciences, Alexander obtained a second Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Ghent. His dissertation focused on integrated assessment models with a focus on degrowth as a policy instrument -  bringing together his expertise in natural sciences, quantitative modelling and economics.

Role in DIAMONDS: Alexander works on WP5b, which focusses on environmental assessment. This work package aims to integrate different subsystems and perform Life-Cycle assessments on the use of subsurface resources that follow from different scenarios.

Contact: alexander.vanovermeiren@uantwerpen.be​

Affiliation: University of Antwerp | Faculty of Social Sciences

Research background: After Kyra earned a Master’s degree in Sociology and Environmental Science, she took a short detour to do research in the social sector before starting her work as a PhD candidate at the University of Antwerp. She combines dimensions of justice with concepts from environmental economics and technical knowledge in order to study the socially sustainable use of the subsurface.

Role in DIAMONDS: Kyra works on WP4 of DIAMONDS, working on the just development of subsurface resources

Contact: kyra.verbruggen@uantwerpen.be

Affiliation: Ghent University | Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

Research background: Brent Bleys is an Associate Professor in Ecological Economics at Ghent University. He holds a PhD in Applied Economics: Commercial Engineering (2009) from the Free University of Brussels (VUB). His research interests lie within the field of Ecological Economics, and include, amongst others, Beyond GDP metrics, indicators for sustainability, pro-environmental behaviour, post-growth policies including working-time reduction, and measuring and promoting sufficiency. Brent has published on these topics in, amongst others, Ecological Economics, Social Indicators Research, Environment & Behavior and Journal of Happiness Studies.

Role in DIAMONDS: Brent works on WP1 that aims to build an integrative sustainability framework rooted in Ecological Economics. In this context, he is one of the supervisors of Hannelore Peeters.

Contact: brent.bleys@ugent.be

Affiliation: Universiteit Gent | Department of Geology

Research background: Thomas earned a Master in Geological Engineering at the University of Liege and then pursued a PhD in Applied Physics In the same University. During his PhD, he developed advanced framework to integrate geophysical data in groundwater models. During his postdoc at Stanford University, he started to investigate methods to quantify uncertainty in Earth Sciences. He became a Professor at Ghent University in 2017. Since then, he developed a research group in Hydrogeophysics, with multiple projects related to saltwater intrusion, geothermal energy and groundwater resources. Thomas enjoys extending his advanced methodologies to new applications such as in DIAMONDS.

Role in DIAMONDS: Thomas is supervising Luka and Wouter who focus on the shallow subsurface in WP2 and WP3. His objective is to investigate to which extent shallow geothermal energy can be exploited while preserving groundwater resources.

Contact: thomas.hermans@ugent.be

Affiliation: Universiteit Gent | Department of Geology & KU Leuven Kulak | Department of Physics

Research background: Wouter earned a Master’s degree in theoretical physics at KU Leuven and then pursued a joint PhD in Physics and Geology at KU Leuven and Ghent University. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Ghent, focusing on (shallow) geothermal energy and (airborne) electromagnetic methods. Wouter enjoys interdisciplinary challenges, covering every aspect from modelling to final applications.

Role in DIAMONDS: Together with Luka, Wouter focuses on the shallow subsurface in WP2 and WP3. He is mainly concerned with modelling interactions between aquifer thermal energy storage systems and groundwater extraction for drinking water production.

Contact: wouter.deleersnyder@ugent.be

Affiliation: University of Ghent | Department of Geology

Research background: Luka has a master’s degree in Geology. Intrigued by groundwater and sustainable energy, she continued as PhD student at the Geology department of Ghent University. There she combines both  interests in her research about shallow geothermal energy storage.

Role in DIAMONDS: For the DIAMONDS project she is involved in WP 2 and WP 3 about the shallow subsurface. She is concerned with modelling interactions between aquifer thermal energy storage systems and groundwater extraction for drinking water production.

Contact: luka.tas@ugent.be​

Affiliation: Delft University of Technology | Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Research background: Alex works on different types of geothermal systems, specifically on uncertainty quantification and optimization of the energy and economic performance. He is member of the science team of the TUD campus geothermal well. Alex holds a PhD in Geothermal Energy from the University of Groningen.

Role in DIAMONDS: Alex is the main supervisor of Carolin, who works on the parts of WP2 and WP3 that concern the deep subsurface with the focus on multiple geothermal wells.. He also connects to the economic assessment in WP5.

Contact: a.daniilidis@tudelft.nl​

Affiliation: Delft University of Technology | Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Research background: Phil works on investigating multi-physics processes in the subsurface for geo-energy applications. He works primarily on a variety of geothermal systems, but also applies his efforts on radioactive waste disposal and geo-hazards. He leads the Delft Subsurface Urban Energy Laboratory, a globally unique field-scale research infrastructure which is centered around a deep geothermal project supplying thermal energy to the university campus and surrounding urban environment.​

Role in DIAMONDS: As a member of WP2 and WP3, Phil is one of the supervisors of Carolin. His role includes aiding development of ideas of how the sustainability of geothermal technology can be assessed and how we can consider long-term reuse of resources.

Contact: p.j.vardon@tudelft.nl

Affiliation: Delft University of Technology | Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Research background: Carolin got her master’s degrees in Geophysics and Environmental Management from Kiel University. Now she works as a PhD candidate at TU Delft, studying the long-term use and sustainability of geothermal energy.

Role in DIAMONDS: Carolin works on the parts of WP2 and WP3 that concern the deep subsurface. The case study about multiple geothermal wells is her main task.

Contact: c.wallmeier@tudelft.nl​