Pieter Jan joined Sirris in 2010 as a project manager in the Sustainability Department. His first task was to meet the challenge or rolling out the Offshore Wind Infrastructure (www.OWI-lab.be) project from scratch. After that, he focused on project management, operationalising and developing the R&D services of the project. In cooperation with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, he was responsible for the development of measuring equipment, to gain a better understanding of the operations of existing offshore wind turbines and their components, with a view to creating novel, improved designs and optimising maintenance.

Today, Pieter Jan is responsible for further operationalising and optimising the Application Lab’s existing services. One of them being Sirris’ unique large climatic chamber where next to windmill parts, the industry can test heavy machinery or validate multiple items in one test run on climatic influences. Furthermore, he takes care of business development within the OWI-Lab, to set up innovation projects and shared R&D projects in cooperation with the industry and academics, so as to put wind in the sails of wind energy in Flanders.

Before joining Sirris, Pieter Jan obtained a Master’s degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from the International University College Group T in Leuven, where he also followed the International Postgraduate Programme in Enterpreneurial Engineering, focusing on subjects such as renewable energy, mobility, making use of electricity and open innovation. During his studies he built an electrical racing car in cooperation with Sirris.