Robert is an environmental engineer whose research lies at the intersection of sustainable resource management and decarbonization, assessing the environmental and economic benefits and trade-offs of natural resource use and waste valorization in industrial decarbonization. His work is grounded in the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and integrates other approaches such as scenario analysis, mathematical optimization, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and material flow analysis (MFA).

More information about Robert Istrate

Professional experience

Robert Istrate is Assistant Professor of Industrial Ecology at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) of Leiden University. Prior to joining CML, he held a postdoctoral researcher position in the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences at ETH Zurich (2022-2023), where he conducted research on decarbonization pathways for the chemical industry. Robert earned his PhD in Industrial Technologies from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain, 2022), focusing on the assessment and optimization of waste-to-energy strategies within the context of the circular economy. He obtained his MSc in Energy and Fuels from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain, 2018) and his BSc in Environmental Engineering from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain, 2017).

Research topic

Robert's current research interests include:

• Assessing the environmental impacts of critical minerals supply chain
• Exploring decarbonization pathways for the mining and metals sector
• Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
• Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) for chemical production
• Optimal waste management systems (including plastics recycling)
• Development of industrial ecology tools and software

He primarily develops these research lines within several European research projects. He coordinates work packages on the assessment of environmental impacts of raw materials supply scenarios in the RAWCLIC and HiQ-LCA projects. He also contributes to the MaDiTraCe project, exploring the integration of life cycle assessment in certification schemes for critical raw materials, and the TranSensus LCA project, where he works on harmonizing the life cycle assessment methodology for zero-emissions vehicles

Beyond his research, Robert coordinates the Sustainability Area Study - The Netherlands course in the Sustainable Development Minor and the Life Cycle Assessment course offered by Leiden University College.

Publications