December 1, 2023 to present. R&D project Leader / Polymer Scientist
AVANTIUM company – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Key Responsibilities:
• Lead R&D projects across all phases, from ideation and planning to execution and implementation.
• Develop sustainable plastic packaging materials: renewable co/polyesters derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), with emphasis on poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF).
• Drive industrial innovation by delivering creative, effective, and patentable solutions to complex technical product challenges, contributing to Avantium’s IP portfolio.
• Foster collaborations between academia (universities and research institutes) and Avantium for joint R&D projects (e.g., Horizon Europe GREEN-X project):
– Technical Project Coordinator of Avantium’s participation in GREEN-X: Advancing Sustainable Polymer Innovation through Circular Feedstocks, Greener Materials, and Industrial Collaboration (March 2026 – Feb 2030), leading WP2 – Thermoplastic Polyester Technologies in collaboration with Mines Paris PSL University (France) and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH, Greece).
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams—including commercial, regulatory, IP, and application teams—to ensure R&D projects align with business objectives and product development strategy.
• Serve as Scientific Advisor in product development, leveraging fundamental insights to deliver impactful solutions that optimize PEF-based packaging properties.
Key Achievement:
Sole inventor of filed patent application — advancing biobased polyesters / poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) materials (March 2026, Patent Pending; Avantium – The Netherlands)
April 1, 2023 to November 30, 2023. Researcher
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Institute Charles Gerhardt (ICGM), Montpellier, France
Research project: Development of reversibly designed crosslinked polymers based on dynamic covalent chemistry (Horizon Europe project – 11 EU partners)
November 1, 2021 to November 30, 2022. Researcher
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (LINK), Stockholm- Sweden
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Research projects:
– Microwave-assisted Chemical Recycling of post-consumer PET bottles into recyclable high-performance polyimines with exceptional mechanical performance, significantly outperforming most of available commodity plastics in the market!
– Development of a novel portfolio of highly transparent aliphatic polyurethane thermosets, synthesized under very mild conditions from 100% renewable branched polyesters, exhibiting “on demand” tunable mechanical and thermal properties and enzymatic degradability.
In 2022: Teaching “Polymer Physics course” (KF2140) to First-year Master students (104 hours) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm – Sweden
Research outputs (publications):
Nejib Kasmi, Eva Bäckström, Minna Hakkarainen. Open-loop recycling of post-consumer PET to closed-loop chemically recyclable high-performance polyimines, Resources, Conservation & Recycling 2023, 193, 106974 (IF: 13.716) LINK
Nejib Kasmi, Yosra Chebbi, Alessandra Lorenzetti, Minna Hakkarainen. Highly transparent polyurethane thermosets with tunable properties and enzymatic degradability derived from polyols originating from hemicellulosic sugars, Green Chemistry 2023 (IF: 9.8) LINK
KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden
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June 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021. Research Scientist
Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (LINK), Berlin- Germany.
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Research activities: Synthesis and characterization of multifunctional polyester-based biomaterials for adaptive and active polymer systems
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March 1, 2019 to April 23, 2021. Junior Research & Technology Associate
Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Luxembourg.
Research project: New biopolymers based on renewable building blocks from catalytic deoxygenation of hemicelluloses
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April 1, 2018 to October 31, 2018. Postdoctoral Fellowship
Bikiaris’s Group (LINK), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Research project: Furan-based Polyesters (LINK):
Research activities (supervision: Prof. Dimitrios Bikiaris, LINK):
Design, synthesis, and in-depth study of fully biobased Co/polyesters and polyester blends derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and other renewable monomers (Isosorbide, vanillic acid, etc.)
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
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3 months (01/05/2016 to 31/07/2016). Research Assistant
Polymer Engineering Group, University of Padova, Italy
Main activities (supervision: Prof. Alessandra Lorenzetti, LINK):
Synthesis of rigid polyurethane foam insulation panels from new polyols based on renewable resources.
Funding source: National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Italy (LINK)
Polymer Engineering Group, Padova University, Italy
Nejib KASMI, PhD 