Pilar Villanueva, PhD
PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Universitat Jaume I of Castellón, awarded Cum Laude. Her research focused on the development of polyethylene nanocomposites with nanoclays, gaining extensive experience in characterisation techniques and processing of polymeric materials. In 2017, she completed an Executive Master’s in Project Management at ESUE Castellón.
Between 2009 and 2025, she developed her research career at AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, starting as a research technician in the Extrusion Department (11 years), and later joining the R&D department as a European proposals leader (6 years).
In the first stage, her work focused on the execution of R&D&I projects (regional, national, and European), services, consultancy and training related to plastic materials and products, as well as improvements in transformation processes that are key for various industries and sectors. As a result of this work, she participated in numerous training activities within vocational training and Master’s programmes in collaboration with UPV.
The second stage focused on preparing European R&D proposals for competitive funding programmes such as H2020, Horizon Europe, BBI, CBE, and Eureka, among others, leading consortium building and proposal writing. Her leadership in projects focused on innovative plastic materials, biotechnology, recycling, CO₂ capture and valorisation, renewable fuels, waste valorisation, biopolymer optimisation, and circular economy. During this period, she was involved in over 50 proposals, several of which received top evaluations (15/15). She has also participated in international conferences, networking events, and has published technical articles based on her research in both academia and at the technology centre.
Since January 2026, she has been part of Kveloce’s Grant Writing team as a Senior Consultant. Her work focuses on the preparation of European R&D&I proposals, particularly within the Horizon Europe framework, as well as the provision of technical and strategic services within Kveloce.
- M.P. Villanueva, C. Gioia, L. Sisti, L. Marti, R LLonres, S. Verstichel, A, Celli. Valorization of ferulic acid from agro-industrial by-products for application in agriculture, Polymers, 14, 202
- M.P. Villanueva⁎, B. Galindo, E. Moliner, S. García, V. Ruedas, Biobased conductive plastic materials for manufacturing capacitive lamps, Materials Today Communications 15 (2018) 105–108
- Cabedo Mas, L.; Villanueva Redon, MP.; Lagaron Cabello, JM.; Giménez Torres, E. (2017). Development and characterization of unmodified kaolinite/EVOH nanocomposites by melt compounding. Applied Clay Science. 135:300-306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2016.10.008
- R.M. Gonzalez, M.P. Villanueva, Chapter 19. Starch-based polymers for food packaging, Book title Multifunctional and Nanoreinforced Polymers for Food Packaging, 527-570, WoodheadPublishing, 2011 https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9781845697389/multifunctional-and-nanoreinforcedpolymers-for-food-packaging
- Anke Fendler,Villanueva-Redón, P. , Enrique Giménez Torras, José Mª Lagarón, Characterization of the barrier properties of composites of HDPE and purified cellulose fibers, Cellulose, 14,5, 427-438, 2011
- M.P. Villanueva, L. Cabedo, J.M. Lagaron, E. Gimenez, Development of novel LDPE clay nanocomposites, Journal of Plastics technology 6 (2009) 3
- M.P. Villanueva, L. Cabedo, J.M. Lagarón, E. Giménez, Comparative study of nanocomposites of polyolefin compatibilizers containing kaolinite and montmorillonite organoclays, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol 115, 1325-1335 (2010)
- L. Cabedo, J.L. Feijoo, M.P. Villanueva, J.M. Lagarón, E. Giménez, Optimization of Biodegradable Nanocomposites based on aPLA/PCL blends for food packaging applications, Macromol. Symp, 233, 191-197, 2006
