SPIRE projects debate the utilisation of CO2 and CO on 12 November

As part of the EU’s Raw Materials Week, the SPIRE Horizon 2020 project Carbon4PUR is organising a stakeholder event to bring together SPIRE projects, industrial, political and NGO stakeholders working in the area of CO2 and CO utilisation. The goal is to create synergies between the projects, create a closer cooperation between the projects and stakeholders, and get a holistic view on the field of CO2 and CO as raw materials. The event takes place on 12 November at the European Commission’s Covent Garden building in Brussels. The meeting is free to participate, but prior compulsory registration must be made by 6 November in order to access the building.

The following SPIRE and EU funded projects will present their take on the subject and the advances they are making in the area:

• Carbon4PUR - Turning industrial waste gases into valuable polyurethanes - European research collaboration between the steel and chemical industries
• FReSMe & MefCO2 - Methanol production from flue and residual steel gases
• ICO2CHEM - From industrial CO2 streams to added value Fischer-Tropsch chemicals
• RECO2DE & ENGICOIN - Recycling CO2 in the cement industry for the production of added-value additives
• EPOS - Enhanced energy and resource Efficiency and Performance in process industry operations via onsite and cross-sectorial symbiosis
• Steelanol - Transforming carbon-rich industrial waste gases into advanced bio-ethanol

A panel discussion will allow for interaction between all projects and participating stakeholders.

Geographical questions

A special focus of the event will be on geographical aspects of CO2 and CO as chemical feedstocks. Answers will be sought for the following questions:

• Where do we have CO2 and CO sources, where renewable energy and chemical transformation facilities are available? 
• Do we need pipelines for the gases and is there space for the new utilisation plants? 

The event will also discuss value chains and potential cooperation between the different actors represented. 

All participating projects are looking for feedback from the various stakeholders about their projects, depending on the progress of the individual project including: 

• Did the project consider all important aspects?
• Do you have suggestions for the implementation?
• Do you see problems? 

Participating stakeholder will get a thorough understanding of the research going on in Europe to use carbon rich gases as resources. You can also make your voice heard and influence these projects with your feedback. Lastly, this is a great opportunity for networking and to get into contact with researchers and companies working in the field of CO2 and CO utilisation. 

Participation is free, but you need to register by November 6th to get access to the building. A preliminary agenda for the meeting can be accessed here and you can register via this link.

KETs Impact: CO2 as a raw material – The Carbon4PUR Project

The recent SusChem White paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’ included a number of success stories highlighting publicly funded innovation involving KETs and the SusChem News blog is featuring a selection of these fruitful 'SusChem inspired' initiatives.

KETs are technologies selected for their ability to address global challenges, support the development of new products, and stimulate economic growth.

Sustainable chemistry is essential to the technological advance of KETs including advanced materials, advanced manufacturing technologies, industrial biotechnology, micro and nanoelectronics, nanotechnology and photonics. SusChem's key enabling technologies provide the critical building blocks for the solutions needed to achieve a sustainable low carbon circular economy. You can find out more here.

Our third highlighted success story features the use of CO2 as an alternative feedstock for the chemical industry. The article highlights a number of projects undertaken by Covestro with German government funding and European projects enCO2re, funded by the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT), and the SPIRE Horizon 2020 project Carbon4PUR that looks to turn industrial waste gases (mixed CO/CO2 streams) from energy intensive steel mills into intermediates for polyurethane plastics used for rigid foams, building insulation, coatings and other consumer products.

Carbon dioxide as a raw material for plastics

Innovative process technology reduces petroleum use

Availability of combined public funding appears crucial to mitigate the high risk of early research and complement own expertise with partnerships along the value chain.

Covestro has been working for many years on the development of technologies to turn CO2 into a valuable resource and for its implementation in making polymers. This “waste” gas is an alternative source of carbon and can substitute fossil raw materials and be used to make building blocks for polyols – a key starting material for polyurethanes. The first breakthrough came when Covestro’s researchers discovered the right catalyst and process for an economically and ecologically efficient reaction. As a first product stemming from the newly developed technology, CO2-based polyols for flexible foam found in mattresses and upholstered furniture are already on the market. Other kinds of products for further applications are under development – for example to obtain chemical building blocks and polymer intermediates for rigid foams and coatings to be applied in building insulation and coatings. The new technology, currently under investigation, is expected to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 by 2020. The next step, after 2022, might be building an industrial plant for the production of CO2-based chemicals at large scale.

How was the breakthrough innovation achieved?

Partnerships between research-based companies and application-oriented research organisations along the value chain are the key to success. With a portfolio of collaboration projects, expertise can be built up starting from low TRL levels. At Covestro, first samples of CO2-based polyols were produced on a mini-plant scale after only three years. Five years later, a demonstration plant with the capacity of 5,000 metric tons/year went on stream. To reach high impact, private investments have been complemented by public funding obtained from both German national sources and EU funds. 

Impact

With the new technology, the use of petroleum can already be reduced by up to 20% in the case of CO2-based foams and 25% in case of elastomers. Also, the carbon footprint is better than with conventional processes. In the latest project, substantial reduction of process energy consumption is also expected by as much as 70%. This is an important contribution to sustainability and achieving the circular economy and helps to close the CO2 loop. 

More information
Carbon4PUR - Turning industrial waste gases (mixed CO/CO2 streams) into intermediates for polyurethane plastics for rigid foams/building insulation and coatings (Horizon 2020/ SPIRE GA 768919)

enCO2re flagship project CroCO2PETs (Climate-KIC / European Institute of Innovation and Technology)

r+impuls Production Dreams (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research FKZ 033R150)

CO2Plus Dream Resource (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research FKZ 033RC002)

MatRessource Dream Polyols (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research FKZ 03XP0052)

Read the SusChem White Paper ‘Impact: Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) in Horizon Europe’

Register now for final CarbonNext event!

The final event for the SPIRE project CarbonNext will be held on Tuesday 17 July at the Commission’s Covent Garden Building in Brussels. This is the perfect opportunity to learn about the potential of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as alternative carbon feedstocks for the European industry, but be quick as registration officially closes today – 6 July 2018.

The two-year SPIRE/ Horizon 2020 CSA project CarbonNext addresses alternative carbon feedstocks for the process industry with a specific focus on the use of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

The final event will discuss the potential of these alternative feedstocks for the European industry. It will present the project’s findings and current relevant initiatives at European and Member states level.

The final conference will have speakers from industry, academia as well as policy makers from the European Commission. The main results from CarbonNext will be accompanied by presentations from industrial representatives to show the relevance and transfer of scientific results and industrial needs and to discuss ecological challenges and the economic potential behind the identified opportunities. 

Presentations include the SusChem inspired PHOENIX initiative and ‘CO2 as an alternative feedstock for sustainable chemistry’ from SusChem board member Pierre Barthelemy of Cefic.

Learn more about the whole carbon value chain – from mapping of CO/CO2 all over Europe, identified processes and products where alternative carbon sources can be used – and get in touch with an interdisciplinary network of CCU stakeholders.

The event will also provide the perfect opportunity to debate gaps and research needs in this domain, as well as timelines and roadmaps, with an eye on potential relevant activities in the framework of the upcoming Research and Innovation framework programme Horizon Europe.

If you are interested to join, please register as soon as possible!

Two Carbon Valorisation Events in July

Carbon valorisation is clearly a hot topic with a number of reports published this month and two events on CO2 valorisation/ #useCO2/ CCU events are scheduled for July.

Club CO2

The first event is an International CO2 Utilisation Symposium organised by the Club CO2 in France on Monday 2 July 2018 in Paris. Entitled An “International overview of CO2 Utilisation”, the symposium will break out into two events. The first one will be a Forum on the “International status of CCU”, which has the objective to have a wide overview of CCU developments.  The second event will be a workshop tackling the question: “Which tools to enhance CCU?”

Club CO2 is pursuing its involvement in the promotion of CO2 utilisation (CCU) as a means of reducing the carbon footprint of the economy. Recycled CO2 can be used as a raw material in the manufacture of high added value products, materials or energy.

For the Symposium agenda, click here. And you can register here. For more information contact the Club CO2 secretariat.

CarbonNext

The second meeting is the final event of the SPIRE project CarbonNext that will be held on 17 July 2018 in Brussels.

CarbonNext has been evaluating the potential use of CO2/CO as carbon-feedstock for the process industry in Europe. After two years of intensive work, the project consortium will share the major outcomes and results of the project. The CarbonNext final conference will feature speakers from industry, academia as well as policy makers from the European Commission. The main results from CarbonNext will be accompanied by presentations from industrial representatives to show the relevance and transfer of scientific results and industrial needs and to discuss ecological challenges and the economic potential behind the identified opportunities.

Learn more about the whole carbon value chain – from mapping of CO/CO2 all over Europe, identified processes and products where alternative carbon sources can be used – and get in touch with an interdisciplinary network of CCU / #useCO2 stakeholders.

A link for registration can be found on the conference webpage and registration closes on 6 July 2018.

New Reports on Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies published

Can carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technologies contribute to mitigating climate change? And if so, how can we choose between the various competing technologies for investment? These are some of the issues explored in the fourth scientific opinion of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisers. The Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Advice Mechanism High Level Group (SAM HLG) on Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies was published on 23 May.

CCU (aka #useCO2) technologies remove CO2 from the atmosphere and use sustainable chemistry and energy to convert it into various useful products such as fuel, building materials or plastics. The area is of intense interest to SusChem and in the subject of numerous initiatives including the recently launched Pheonix Initiative (see below). However, at present, there are no accurate, reliable methods to determine the climate mitigation potential of these technologies and this has hindered investment in and deployment of these technologies.

The opinion draws on the best available scientific and technical evidence from across Europe. The separate related Evidence Review Report prepared by SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies) was also published on 23 May.

The Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) Group of Chief Scientific Advisers was established on 16 October 2015 to support the Commission with high quality, timely and independent scientific advice for its policy-making activities.

Low carbon, LCA
The advisers observe that for CCU technologies to contribute to climate change mitigation, the energy used in CO2 conversion must be of low carbon origin. In addition, and because the converted carbon may be held in the product for a variable amount of time and not always permanently, the assessment of the climate mitigation potential of the technologies also depends on a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach that takes into account the fate of carbon once released from the product.

Commenting on the opinion Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “We need to be ready to take advantage of all possible proven innovative opportunities in the fight against climate change. The opinion will help policy-makers, in the EU and around the globe, to know if and how to make best use of these technologies.”

The opinion was drafted at the request of Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy. He said: “We are determined to meet our commitments to curb climate change, and for that we have to explore every possible avenue. This scientific opinion provides a roadmap for specifying how carbon capture and utilisation can be part of this effort.”

Recommendations
The Scientific Advisers recommend:

• The development of a rigorous cross-sectorial and systemic methodology that includes a simplified Life Cycle Assessment to enable the calculation of the climate mitigation potential of various CCU technologies. This should be rolled out beyond the EU, for example through the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The development and agreement of funding criteria for candidate CCU projects, requiring them to be feasible and green, to be superior to existing alternatives, to demonstrate additional benefits beyond climate mitigation, and to be ready to integrate with existing systems.
• That the EC develops a regulatory and investment framework to enable CCU deployment.
• As well as the SAPEA Evidence Review Report, the opinion drew on a comprehensive review of scientific literature, a wide-ranging consultation with relevant scientific experts and policy, industry and civil society stakeholders.

Mission Innovation
The opinion was published in the week of the third ministerial meeting of Mission Innovation in Malmö, Sweden. Countries and organisations participating in Mission Innovation, including the European Commission on behalf of the EU, have joined forces to accelerate the clean energy revolution.

The week of the meeting also saw the publication of a summary of the Mission Innovation Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Expert’s Workshop held in late September 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Workshop brought together 260 of the world’s leading CCUS experts from academia and industry to evaluate the most promising R&D avenues for enhancing CCUS processes.
The goals of the Workshop were to assess current gaps in CCUS technologies and to identify the most promising directions for basic research (Priority Research Directions, or PRDs) that are needed to achieve long-term global carbon management.

The report, ‘Accelerating Breakthrough Innovation in Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage’ includes the 30 PRDs established by experts at the Workshop. These PRDs encompass opportunities for understanding and improving materials, chemical processes, and other scientific and technical areas required to develop the next-generation technologies needed for efficient, cost-effective management of carbon emissions. The PRDs were created from panel discussions covering four subcategories: Carbon Capture; Carbon Utilisation; Carbon Storage; and Cross-Cutting CCUS Topics.

Phoenix report
Finally, at the beginning of May a summary report on the first PHOENIX European Stakeholder workshop that took place on 22 March was published.

At the workshop, that was held in Frankfurt, participants discussed the future of CO2 valorisation in the European context with a strong focus on demonstration and subsequent implementation of technologies. The summary as well as the guiding questions for the workshop are now available to download from the Pheonix website.

Join ClubCO2 on 21 October

The technical and economic issues around #useCO2 projects will also be the subject of the second CO2 reuse seminar organised by ClubCO2 with the support of ADEME and the CO2Forum. This event takes place on 21 October 2016 in Lyon, France and will focus on the question: What are the economic and environmental benefits of CO2 reuse? The first ClubCO2 seminar was organised in Le Havre in May 2015, Club CO2.

The morning session (to be conducted in English) will present the current position and prospects for the policy-making, regulatory and economic aspects of CO2 reuse and analyses of the economic and environmental benefits of different CO2 conversion processes, based on industrial applications.

The afternoon parallel expert sessions will be organised in English and French speaking workshops with the aim of discussing and highlighting the conditions for the successful emergence of CO2 transformation technologies.

You can find more information about the Club CO2 seminar here and registration for the event can be found here.

The ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency) founded Club CO2 in 2002 with the support of the IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN - formerly French Petroleum Institute) and BRGM (Bureau of Geological and Mineral Research). Since 19 March 2016, Club CO2 has been a non-profit association registered under French law to bring together industry and research organisations in this area.

Nova Institut announce #useCO2 session

The nova Institut has announced that registration is now open for the first nova Session on a technology of the future: Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU). This one-day workshop briefing session takes place on 4 May 2016 at Cologne Airport, Germany. Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies - also known as #useCO2 – are close to SusChem’s heart and feature in SusChem’s Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA).

The session will be led by Nova’s CCU-experts Michael Carus and Achim Raschka who will give five presentations at the workshop and additional short presentations from the participants are also welcome. The event will leave plenty of room for discussions.

Participants will have the chance to actively shape content and form of the event and contribute short presentations on their work and the topics they are most interested in.

“At the moment, there is no space for experts to really get together and exchange knowledge, ask questions and meet people from the same and other sectors of the economy – be it from R&D or manufacturing – who might have different views and perspectives on the topics,” states Michael Carus.

The presentations by nova-Institute will highlight:

• The potential of Carbon Dioxide Utilization in combination with renewable energy
• The political framework for commercial CCU projects
• The economy and ecology of CCU 
• Artificial Photosynthesis: Definition and development status 
• The latest technology developments and implementation status of CCU derived fuels, chemicals and polymers including:
• use of flue gases and industrial gases,
• direct air capture,
• electrolysis
• artificial photosynthesis,
• photocatalytic water splitting,
• hybrid systems,
• (bio)electrochemical processes,
• biotechnology processes,
• Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (PtL),
• Methanisation (PtG)

More information about the event and a full agenda are available here. Participants in the nova sessions are limited to 20 people and places will be offered on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis, so if you are interested in attending the event registration is advised as soon as possible.

The venue is the Wöllhaf Conference Centre at the Bonn/ Cologne airport.

SusChem and CO2

CO2 conversion technologies in general—including chemical catalysis processes— feature in the SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) that was published at the beginning of 2015. The SIRA addresses the challenges of CO2 conversion via both chemical and biotechnology routes and identifies a series of research and innovation actions that will move the field forward. In addition to efficient conversion processes these actions include sustainable technologies to recover CO2 from flue gases and the integration of renewable energy and efficient technologies for H2 production.

nova Sessions
nova Sessions are a new, interactive and informative series of events around topical issues relating to the biobased and CO2-based economies organised by the nova-Institute. In the sessions interested experts from industry, associations, policy and civil society get together with leading nova experts at one-day workshops to get up-to-date, stay informed and discuss different topics.

You can find more detailed information on the full programme of nova sessions here.

#useCO2 News

Carbon dioxide Capture utilisation (CCU) and carbon storage are certainly hot topics in sustainable chemistry and rarely out of the energy news. Now the European Commission’s Strategic Energy Technologies Information System (SETIS) has devoted a whole issue of its online magazine to the topic including contributions from SusChem and SPIRE.

The January 2016 issue of the SETIS Magazine includes some 20 articles highlighting the many projects and activities on carbon capture utilisation and storage in Europe. Amongst the various contributions from industry and academic experts are two from SusChem and the SPIRE PPP:

• ‘Chemical valorisation of CO2 for Europe’ by Sophie Wilmet of Cefic R&I
• ‘Carbon dioxide – turning an enemy into a valuable friend!’ by SPIRE executive director Loredana Ghinea

SusChem closely follows progress in CO2 utilisation and regularly tweets on developments using the #useCO2 hashtag.

European #useCO2 Events
A couple of important #useCO2 conferences are taking place in Europe during 2016.

Carbon Dioxide Catalysis - Zing Conference on 19 22 April 2016 in the Algarve, Portugal
This conference will showcase the latest advances in the catalytic conversion of CO2. The primary aim of the conference is to gather representatives from the academic and industrial communities to exchange information and ideas, and to find mutual ground for developing new and improved catalytic methods.

International Conference on Carbon Dioxide Utilization (ICCDU XIV) on 11-15 September 2016 in Sheffield UK
The ICCDU is the premier scientific conference on CO2 utilisation research and  provides a multi-disciplinary forum on recent innovations in fundamental and applied aspects of carbon dioxide utilization. There are three broad themes and abstracts are welcome in the following areas by 29 February:

• CO2 insertion any processes in-which CO2 is inserted i.e. polymerisation, mineralisation.
• CO2 splitting any process in which CO2 is split, i.e. electrochemistry, plasma, photochemistry.
• Enabling technologies i.e. carbon capture, LCA, CO2 utilisation in the circular economy, hydrogen production for CO2 utilisation, energy integration, whole systems approaches.

SCOT project
The Smart CO2 Transformation (SCOT) project has launched its Vision for Smart CO2 Transformation in Europe, a long-term Vision for CO2 utilisation that puts forward why Europe should make CCU a priority and accelerate the development of #useCO2 technologies.

The report suggests three core reasons why Europe should accelerate the market development
of its CO2 utilisation sector:

• CO2 utilisation can be one of the major growth areas in Europe’s future low-carbon circular economy
• CO2  utilisation can help to facilitate Europe’s energy transition
• CO2 utilisation can contribute to achieving Europe’s aims for decreasing carbon emissions

The project also has two further events:

How to deal with oil price ups and downs: SCOT & CO2Chem Workshop on 23 March 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany
The significant work on CCU in recent years is being jeopardised by the current depressed fossil fuel price. For successful market implementation, it is crucial for CCU technologies to compete economically, thus the low oil prices are a major barrier for the development of CCU technologies. The goal of the workshop is to describe the current situation and to discuss how CCU can develop constantly and safely within these uncertain framework conditions.
http://www.scotproject.org/

CO2 Utilisation as a Strong Catalyst for the European Industrial Renaissance on 29 June 2016 in Brussels
The final conference of the SCOT FP7 project will present the Research and Development and the regulatory needs that SCOT has identified as levers for the development of CO2 Utilisation. The day will be split in two parts; in the morning, the CO2 recycling community will gather key industrial and academic players in order to discuss the Strategic European Research and Innovation Agenda (SERIA) and the next steps necessary to implement the Joint Action Plan.  In the afternoon, discussion will move to European and regional policy makers and what can be done from a policy perspective to allow the industrial deployment of these technologies.

About CO2Chem
The information provided in this blog is supplied by the CO2Chem network that brings together academics, industrialists and policy makers over a wide range of disciplines to consider the utilisation of carbon dioxide as a single carbon chemical feedstock for the production of value added products. Network activities are geared towards the founding of strong cross-disciplinary research clusters that will lead research in this increasingly important area.
A calendar of forthcoming events covering carbon dioxide utilisation (#useCO2) topics can be found on the CO2Chem Website.

Solar + #useCO2 = all our Energy and Material needs?

On 29 and 30 September 2015, leading experts from politics, research and the industry will meet at the Haus der Technik in Essen, Germany, at the biggest European “Conference on Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Fuels, Chemistry and Polymers” to discuss the latest technologies and strategies for an optimum and swift implementation. Over 200 participants are expected from all over the world, including many global companies. The conference is organised by the nova-Institut.

The nova-Institut has calculated that the global demand for electricity, raw materials for the chemical and plastics industry as well as aviation fuel could be met by solar energy. Only 2% of the world’s desert area would be needed to provide the global carbon demand of the chemical and plastics industry with solar and Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technologies in 2050.

Initial life cycle assessments (LCAs) show that the climate footprint of solar kerosene is better than all alternatives. The CO2 emissions per tonne for solar kerosene production are considerably lower than those of biobased kerosene and 80 to 90% lower than petrochemical kerosene. Indeed further calculations show that compliance with the 2°C climate change goal is only possible using solar kerosene. In comparison to biobased kerosene it is found that land use and water demands are also much lower.

“Today, we have the technologies to cover the global demand for electricity, raw materials for the chemical and plastics industry as well as aviation fuel by solar, wind and hydro energy – even in the long term. Renewable energy and carbon dioxide utilization mean nothing less than a sustainability revolution for all energy and raw material supply. Just the right political and economic framework is missing so far,” says Michael Carus, CEO of the nova-Institut GmbH (pictured right).

The SusChem Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) includes a range of CCU and related technologies in its chapter on Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy (SIRA, Chapter 3) including the long-term option of direct photo-conversion of CO2: the development of ‘artificial leaves’ able to capture CO2 and convert it into renewable chemicals and fuels using only sunlight and water.

Solar for power, chemicals
Nova-Institut analysis shows that the amount of solar energy falling on the Earth is more than sufficient to meet estimated global energy demand in 2050 using less than 1% of worldwide land for photovoltaic (PV) systems. In addition to the direct use of solar energy, other renewables such as wind or water, can contribute to fulfilling energy demands. This global view shows that providing humanity with sustainable and environmentally friendly energy is not a problem in principle, however significant investment will be required.

Technical developments of the last few years have shown that solar, wind and hydro power not only provide eco-friendly electricity, but can also be used to produce organic raw materials.

Renewable energies are used to derive the elements hydrogen and oxygen from water. Combining the generated hydrogen with CO2 forms methane, methanol and a variety of other chemical building blocks. This process can be achieved catalytically or biotechnologically. More than 20 pilot plants worldwide are operational already and the first commercial plants are under construction. This technology is called CCU or alternatively power-to-gas or power-to-liquid.

In SusChem we tend to use the term #useCO2 as a generic hashtag to cover these technologies.

Nova-Institut calculations show that, using this technologies, it is possible to sustainably supply the chemical and plastics industry with organic raw materials. Even with a strong growth, the carbon demand of the chemical and plastics industry could easily be met through CCU technologies in 2050. About 2% of the world’s desert area would be enough to cover the global carbon demand of the chemical and plastics industry with solar and CCU technologies.

Sustainable technologies
Already today, solar-powered CCU technologies can contribute toward climate protection. One of the biggest climate challenge is the growing CO2 emissions caused by air traffic. Airlines and aircraft manufacturers are investing large amounts to produce climate friendly biobased kerosene from wood, algae, Jatropha and biogenic waste. However, high costs as well as insecurities about land requirements, biodiversity and potential conflicts with food and feed have so far prevented large-scale industrial implementation.

Synthetic aviation fuel based on solar, wind and water energy as well as CO2 offers an alternative and it is already being produced on small scales. More than ten pilot plants are using electrolysis and Fischer-Tropsch-Synthesis to produce different fuels with efficiency levels of 70 to 80%. Solar kerosene can replace petrochemical kerosene 1:1 and has better combustion characteristics due to its purity. Production costs depend primarily on prices for renewable energies and are about the same as for biobased kerosene.

Find out more on the #useCO2 future in Essen on 29 and 30 September!

ACHEMA 2015 - Global Summit of Innovation!

With over 3,800 exhibitors and a huge exhibition space ACHEMA opened on 15 June in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The growing international reputation of Europe’s premier event for the process industries was underlined by the fact that, for the first time, the majority of exhibitors come from outside Germany. With well over 160,000 participants anticipated to attend from 15 - 19 June one focus of interest for SusChem amongst the varied technical programme are three sessions on CO2 utilisation.

ACHEMA is the world forum for chemical engineering and the process industry providing an international platform for new chemical process innovations and technologies. And innovation was the main focus of the first day of ACHEMA. At the opening press conference Prof. Dr. Rainer Diercks, Chairman of the Board of organiser DECHEMA e.V. described ACHEMA as: “the global summit of innovation.” Being interdisciplinary and highly international, ACHEMA is a “melting pot of ideas.” Diercks also pointed out that the significant contribution of chemistry and process engineering to the solution of global challenges such as water supply, food or health is not well-known to the general public. ACHEMA is therefore aiming to increase its activities directed towards engaging with the public on these subjects.

The importance of the chemical industry for overall innovation should be brought much more strongly to the attention of the general public DECHEMA believes. All speakers in the press conference panel warned that Europe could fall back as a place for innovation if the political and societal framework was not improved.

Innovation in terms of CO2 utilisation technology is of growing interest to SusChem and the chemical industry generally. At ACHEMA DECHEMA has organised a special stand on the German #useCO2 funding programme in the Exhibition area in  Hall 9.2, stand E46 (link text in German). If you are at ACHEMA go visit!

In addition two ACHEMA conference sessions and a workshop are of direct interest in this field.

Energy and alternatives
Energy, water and feedstock are essential for any chemical or biotechnology conversion. As these resources become scarcer, new methods for efficient use are being introduced. This includes energy efficient transformations and operations as well as the temporary storage of energy in the form of electricity or heat. Renewable energy resources that produce electricity depending on weather conditions rather than in response to demand may create a temporary and regional surplus of energy. This can be usefully employed for the production of basic chemicals as well as for conversion of unconventional feedstock such as CO2.

The ‘Power to chemicals’ conference session majors on this latter theme and takes place on the morning of Thursday, 18 June from 10:30. The session will describe  a number of interesting processes in this field including the use of ammonia as a storage medium for fluctuating (renewable) energy sources; synthetic fuels from a sustainable pathway; storage of power as chemicals using gasification plants; tailored foams as catalyst support for highly exothermic processes; and comparison of biological and catalytic methanation for power-to-gas applications.

You can find more information, including downloadable abstracts of all the presentations, here.

On the following morning (19 June) a dedicated session on Industrial carbon dioxide utilisation covers topics including: Materials for the 21st century - can carbon come from CO2?; CO2-based polyurethanes on the way to commercial scale (the Bayer DREAM process); an evaluation of the economic and environmental potentials of using CO2 in chemical processes; Combinatorial screening of catalyst materials for electrochemical CO2 reduction; and Environmentally sustainable syngas production from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Again you can find more information, including downloadable abstracts of all the presentations, here.

SCOT workshop
Also on the afternoon of 18 June from 15:00 the EU FP7 project Smart CO2 Utilisation (SCOT) is organising a workshop at ACHEMA entitled: ‘PtX: A new paradigm for energy and gas networks?’

The event will present the draft of the SCOT Project’s Vision for Power to Gas and Power to Liquids and open a discussion on  the potential of these technologies in Europe.
The workshop will address the following questions:

• In which fields will PtX provide added value?
• What needs to happen for the technologies to be viable (policy, technical progress, etc)?
• What impact will PtX have on electricity and gas network operators and industries in Europe?

To guide the discussion, three high-level experts will lead the exchanges with the audience that will consist of people from industry, research institutes as well as policy makers.

A joint Cefic-European Commission Workshop on the Chemistry and Processes of CO2 Utilisation was recently held and the outcomes will be published soon.

Carbon Dioxide for Chemistry and Polymers

For the second consecutive year, experts will gather in Germany to discuss the subject of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the feedstock of the future. The event, organized by Nova-Institute, will take place on 7-9 October 2013 at Haus der Technik in Essen and will be the biggest event on CO2 as chemical feedstock this year bringing new insights into the utilisation of carbon dioxide: an area of great interest to SusChem.

Life on Earth has thrived successfully for more than three billion years relying only on CO₂ as a single feedstock in combination with water and solar energy. Recently a vision of a ‘CO₂ economy’ has emerged based on different technologies developed to capture CO₂ and convert it into the wide range of chemicals that are vital to modern society. CO₂ utilisation could enable recycling of CO₂ as an everlasting raw material and the main carbon source for a truly circular economy. These new and exciting chemical technologies are described by the generic acronym CCU: Carbon Capture and Utilisation.

The first steps to achieving this CO₂ vision are already in hand and many interesting technologies are under development with the first investments in energy storage (power-to-gas) and polymers (polyurethanefrom CO2) made this year in Europe.

CO₂ can provide a feedstock for many different chemical routes. These include renewable energy storage via CO₂ upgrade, chemicals and polymers from CO₂, CO₂ mineralization, CO₂ as carbon source for biotechnology applications (for example algae and bacteria) and artificial photosynthesis via chemical processes – perhaps the ultimate goal. The source of CO₂ as feedstock could be from industrial flue gases or directly from the atmosphere.

Carbon insights

The Essen conference will present a range of these new technologies. On the first day, the vision and framework for a modern CO₂ economy will be outlined by representatives from European and German political bodies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Gernot Klotz from Cefic will describe how Cefic and SusChem are organising to boost research and innovation in this area.

In addition the Virgin Earth Challenge will present their vision for CO₂ utilisation’s role in combating climate change. And finally some projects from Europe and Japan will give insights into their work on artificial photosynthesis and sustainability aspects of CO₂ utilisation.

The second day will focus on feedstock preparation and utilization in innovative inorganic and organic chemistry and also on the production on 'solar fuels'. Following some overviews, several international speakers from the industry and academia will present their most recent project results.

On the final day, the conference will focus on polymers and building blocks made from CO₂ via chemical and biotechnological routes. Highlights of that day will be presentations of companies such as Bayer and BASF and research organisations including the BioBase Europe Pilot Plant in Belgium.

A technical exhibition and poster session will run in parallel to the conference.

More information

You can find more details about the exhibition and the poster session and register online for the conference at its website or contact the organiser Dominik Voght at Nova Institute. 

SusChem closely follows progress in CO₂ utilisation and regularly tweets on developments using the #useCO2 hashtag.