Hasselt (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A researcher at Universiteit Hasselt (UHasselt) has secured one of Europe’s most competitive science awards to develop materials that can directly sense the “handedness” of light. Dr. Prof. Wouter Van Gompel has received a grant of €1.7 million from the European Research Council (ERC) in relation to the CONCePT project, which seeks to develop chiral hybrid perovskites that can tell the difference between left- and right-circularly polarized light and convert this polarization difference into electricity. The ERC unveiled the Starting Grants 2026 on 3 September 2026, and UHasselt released this information in a press statement on 4 September 2026.
Why does detecting ‘rotating’ light matter?
Circularly polarized light (CPL) is invisible to the human eye, but it contains information related to the direction of rotation of the electric field of the light wave as it travels through space. Currently, using this kind of light normally involves the use of large bulky optical systems, such as filters and polarizers. However, according to the group led by Van Gompel, the use of clever semiconducting materials can make CPL sensing simpler and smaller.
As the university frames it, the work targets
“compactere sensoren, geavanceerde beeldvorming en optische communicatie”
more compact sensors, advanced imaging, and optical communication.
Who is leading the CONCePT project and under which ERC panel?
The CONCePT project – short for
“Electroactive organic cations for chiral hybrid perovskites: combining efficient charge carrier transport with strong chiroptical activity”
is led by Prof. dr. Wouter Van Gompel within UHasselt’s Instituut voor Materiaalonderzoek (IUMAT), in collaboration with imec. This grant is part of the Physical Sciences and Engineering section, panel PE11 of the ERC and the hosting institution of this grant is the University of Hasselt, Belgium. A total of 421 Starting Grants were awarded in 2026 worth a combined amount of €705 million by the ERC.
How will chiral hybrid perovskites enable direct CPL detection?
Chiral hybrid perovskites, a novel type of semiconductor material comprising an inorganic structure and chiral organic cations – organic compounds with left- and right-handed versions – form the core of this study. Such materials have the potential to possess strong chiroptical properties, which means that they could respond differently to left- and right-circularly polarized light and conduct electrical charge at the same time. Nevertheless, current chiral perovskites are limited by certain drawbacks.
CONCePT aims to modify the organic units of these perovskites in order for the new crystals to exhibit an improvement in charge carrier mobility, circularly polarized light detection, and durability at the same time. The objective here is to transition from lab-scale demonstrations to component-scale technology that will no longer need external optics for integration into sensor systems, imaging systems, and communications systems.
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