S&T involved in HyCARB – Follow-up to the national project kick-off

HyCARB is a large-scale national initiative aimed at making the chemical industry more sustainable. The programme develops technologies that convert CO₂ into valuable chemical building blocks and fuels, through close collaboration between research institutions and industrial partners.

S&T researchers contribute actively to the programme, in particular by

• Process, reactor and material development for flexible storage of CO₂  and renewable energy via CO₂  methanation using Mg based sorbents;
• Developing a new concept for the Reverse Water-Gas Shift (rWGS) process by combining catalysis and no-thermal plasma;
• Developing electrode materials and high-pressure electrochemical reactors for low temperature CO₂ electrolysis towards formic acid and formaldehyde, in collaboration with Dr Ten.

In addition, HyCARB creates opportunities for new research positions and strengthens collaboration both within and beyond the faculty.

From the S&T Department of Chemical Engineering, Marco Altomare, Guido Mul, Georgios Katsoukis, Wim Brilman, Louis van der Ham and Leon Lefferts are actively involved. S&T also collaborates with Davoud Jafari (ET), who will develop integrated 3D-printed structures for resistive volume heating for a Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) reactor, and with various industry partners.

S&T’s research focuses on areas such as CO₂ capture and conversion, electrochemical and plasma processes, and reactor engineering. By participating in HyCARB, UT will contribute to make the chemical industry and society at large more sustainable and circular, this is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, contribute to strategic independence of fossil resources, and stimulate the Dutch economy. The programme places UT as front runner to develop technologies that will not only make chemistry more sustainable in the Netherlands but also enable companies to export their knowledge worldwide.

Find out more about the programme and its projects:

• NWO: https://www.nwo.nl/en/projects/vdiop10623
• GroenvermogenNL: https://groenvermogennl.org/en/nieuws/kick-off-of-hycarb-unique-project-to-make-chemistry-more-sustainable/