Mar 6 2019
Discovering ways to sustainably generate chemicals and energy and replace the fossil fuels that are the basis for chemical and energy industry is extremely important due to climate change.
The science and technology required for economically viable production of carbon-neutral fuels, materials, and chemicals will be developed by ENERGY-X.
The ENERGY-X Coordination & Support Action (CSA), financially supported by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, was started on March 4th, 2019, in Prague. Over the next 12 months, the ENERGY-X CSA will organize European researchers and industry to create a strategic roadmap toward a large-scale research initiative dealing with the effective transformation of wind and solar power into a chemical form.
The ENERGY-X CSA is supported by huge industrial companies and includes 13 partners throughout Europe, namely, Max Planck Society, Technical University of Denmark, Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ghent University, CEA, Utrecht University, Czech Academy of Sciences, ERIC aisbl, ETH Zürich, RWI, EERA aisbl, Technical University of Valencia, and DECHEMA.
In the field of molecular and interfacial catalysis, ENERGY-X will help to make advancements toward novel science and innovative technology. ENERGY-X, in association with European industry, will merge this goal with the scale-up of industrially appropriate conditions. The scientific targets are the three main chemical processes that convert carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen into base chemicals and fuels.
The approach is to aggregate fragmented knowledge and excellence throughout Europe by building on the existing critical mass and developing an ecosystem to overcome the unresolved barriers to these chemical conversion technologies. ENERGY-X will not only create scalable scientific solutions but also transfer this knowledge into two demonstration projects, namely the manufacturing of carbon-neutral aviation fuels and the decentralised production of fertilisers with zero CO2 footprint.
Jens K. Nørskov, Project Coordinator, Villum Kann Rasmussen Professor, Technical University of Denmark
ENERGY-X, together with cross-industrial technological expertise (engineering, chemistry, mobility, utilities, and agriculture), provides interdisciplinary academic research (physics, chemistry, economics, engineering, and social science) to offer a platform for future chemical energy conversion technology in Europe. It will strengthen and improve the global leadership role of the chemical and energy industry in Europe, bringing advantages to job creation and sustainable growth across the European Union.