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ECO2Fuel featured on “Alles Chlor!”- Podcast

Delighted to share that ECO2Fuel was spotlighted on “Alles Chlor!” – a podcast hosted by the young chemists’ forum of the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker).

Envision a world where we could extract CO2 directly from our atmosphere and seamlessly convert it into eco-friendly fuels and chemicals. While this may seem like an extract from a futuristic novel, it’s precisely what the EU-backed ECO2Fuel initiative aims to achieve.

Our Project Coordinator, Dr. Schwan Hosseiny from the German Aerospace Center, had the opportunity to discuss the groundbreaking technology we’re developing. Far from just theorizing, he’s leading a comprehensive strategy to usher Europe towards the bold goal of climate neutrality by 2050.

Dive headfirst into this riveting technological revolution in the (German) episode of “Alles Chlor!” Learn about the sophisticated science behind the tech, explore its potential to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and get a unique behind-the-scenes perspective of managing such a significant international endeavor.

Let’s shape the future, hand in hand!

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Diesel Alcohol Blends Successfully Tested for Stability

In WP8 CRF provided very common and widespread specifications for the final diesel blend, based on international standards and in parallel with made a literature review to evaluate the possible problems related to the preparation of these blends.

UPV performed several stability tests of diesel alcohol blends, prepared according to the experimental matrix defined in D8.1.

An experiment table based on three diesel fuels with different certified biodiesel content (7-15-30%), with increasing concentrations of ethanol and propanol, at different temperatures was established ad tested. All the mixtures display good stability at 4 and 0°C and the behavior at very low temperature was compliant with the reference norm requirements.

RWE started the Integration of the adapted engine for peak-power generation and multiple carbon recycling. The Validation of the climate friendly peak-power production will begin in Q2, 2024 (M30).

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ECO2Fuel is part of the Enlit-Community

ECO2Fuel is thankful to be listed on Enlit an inclusive and comprehensive forum that provides valuable insights into every aspect of the energy agenda, enabling individuals and organizations to navigate the energy transition effectively. With a continuously growing platform, Enlit offers a range of resources, including articles, videos, podcasts, and directories, that give exclusive insights into the energy sector.

As the world continues to move towards a more sustainable future, the importance of Enlit cannot be overstated. The forum aims to break down silos and create a collaborative platform for people and projects to come together, driving progress in the energy industry.

Enlit provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into the latest trends, innovations, and developments in the energy sector. With its inclusive and end-to-end approach, Enlit addresses every aspect of the energy agenda, including clean energy, energy storage, smart grids, and more.

Let’s make meaningful connections with people driving the energy transition forward!

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The ECO2Fuel consortium strengthens its expertise with Charly Azra

Charly Azra is CTO at Hydrolite, leading the development of hydrogen-based electrochemical systems such as fuel cells and electrolysers based on anion-exchange membranes (AEMs).

Charly Azra

Charly joined Hydrolite in 2015, leading research and development on various aspects of fuel cells and electrolyser including membrane development and scale up, catalyst layer design, stack assembly methods, stack mechanical design and system-level design and operation.

Before joining Hydrolite, Charly worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Technion (Israel) on electrospinning of polymeric nanofibres. He obtained a Doctoral Degree in Material Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL) for his research on shape memory polymers. He holds a Master of Science in Micro and Nanotechnologies for Integrated Systems, a joint degree from the Politecnico di Torino (Italy), Grenoble INP (France) and EPFL (Switzerland).

As part of the ECO2Fuel project, Charly’s responsibility is to provide high performance, large size membranes and ionomers for catalyst layer fabrication according to the specifications established for operation within the CO2 electrolyser. Using his experience in processing and functionalization of polymeric materials coupled with knowledge of hydrogen based electrochemical devices, Charly and his team of researchers will provide ECO2Fuel with high quality materials for the successful implementation of efficient CO2 electrolysers.

“I am honoured and excited to be part of such a prestigious consortium dealing with a noble subject such as decarbonization of the planet for a sustainable future. It is highly rewarding to see materials we have developed within Hydrolite being used in a different technology.”

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Welcoming a new team member from DLR in Germany

The ECO2Fuel management board welcomes a new team member, Marc Schnierle, who joined the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) team in February 2023.

Marc has a master’s degree in chemistry and is finishing his PhD at the University of Stuttgart on “Post Ligation Modification of Metallotetrazine as Perspective Surface Molecular Probes.” funded by the DFG. 

Marc joined the ECO2Fuel project because he believes in technology. He sees e-fuels as a promising carbon-neutral energy carrier for many industries that cannot be electrified and rely on alternative energy carriers.

In ECO2Fuel, e-fuels are produced by converting CO2 captured from point sources, green electricity, and water in a single step. Since the CO2 used to produce e-fuels is captured either from industrial applications still reliant on fossil fuels, e.g. steel, cement etc. or from the atmosphere, e-fuels can be considered carbon-neutral. By this, e-fuels close the carbon cycle and help avoid the further use of fossil-based energy carriers.

“In addition, e-fuels have the potential to be used in existing combustion engines with little or no modification, which makes them a promising alternative to electric vehicles (EVs) in specific applications, such as long-haul transportation or aviation, where the energy density and range of conventional fuels are required.”, says Marc.

With his chemistry expertise and research experience, Marc will make a valuable contribution to the ECO2Fuel project.

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Welcoming a new team member from VITO in Belgium

Francisco Mendez Alva is part of the techno-economic assessment team, working on the integrated sustainability assessment of the electrochemical systems, including analysing the context of its current and potential applications – policies, indicators, benchmarks, and roadmaps.

Francisco joined VITO as a researcher last year in the TEA group working on multiple projects centered on the concept of e-fuels. He obtained a Doctoral degree in Engineering from Ghent University in Belgium with his research focus on industrial symbiosis as an enabler towards carbon-neutrality and circularity aims in the European process industry.

During his PhD, he worked on international European projects (EPOS, AIDRES, and TRILATE), developing criteria and cases for symbiosis across multiple sectors.

He holds an (Erasmus Mundus) Master of Science degree in Industrial Ecology (TU Delft/Leiden University/University of Graz) and a Chemical Engineer degree (UNAM-Mexico). Before starting a doctoral research, Francisco worked as a process engineer and business controller in manufacturing in the consumer goods sector.

Today, Francisco is part of the ECO2Fuel project.

“Technical solutions are essential for reaching renewable energy and climate goals in Europe.” ECO2Fuel brings together a solid consortium to demonstrate a new type of low-temperature electrolyser to convert captured CO2 into sustainable liquid fuels. “It is great to contribute to the efforts towards options that not only provide an advantage towards the re-circulation of carbon but also can increase the reach of renewable energy synergising with existing infrastructure.”, says Francisco.

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CNR-ITAE hosted VITO in the framework of the ECO2Fuel project

CNR-ITAE hosted VITO in the framework of the ECO2Fuel project; researchers Jing Shen, Zhiyuan Chen, and technical manager Joost Helsen visited CNR in November for three days to discuss and harmonise the experiments and protocols to evaluate the CO2 electrolysis test rigs at both institutions.

During the visit, design and manufacturing of the demonstrator were also discussed, which have already started in parallel with the materials and components optimisation at VITO.

The consortium partner will be continuing these face-to-face exchanges to accelerate the upscaling and optimisation of the ECO2Fuel technology.

Next: Researchers from UPV visit DLR for 15 days for a hands-on workshop on the CO2 electrolyser test rig and online CO2 reduction product monitoring.

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Direct electrochemical conversion of CO2 into carbonaceous fuels at GHGT-16 in Lyon

The Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT) conference series is the principal international conference on greenhouse gas mitigation technologies, focussing on Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage.

The GHGT conference series was formed in 1997 and is held every two years in IEAGHG’s member countries, rotating between North America, Europe and Asia, and is the most important forum for technical discussions related to the field of greenhouse gas control technology.

End of October this year, 1209 participants from all over the world followed 355 oral presentations in 71 sessions about all aspects of carbon capture, storage and utilisation.

Also, more than 300 posters have been presented and used for the discussion on technology development and demonstration, techno-economic aspects and the necessary political framework to achieve the climate protection targets.

Knut Stahl from research and development at RWE Power presented results of ECO2Fuel’s predecessor project LOTER.CO2M on the synthesis of carbonaceous fuels from CO2, water and electricity, which was demonstrated this spring.

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ECO2Fuel at the European Research & Innovation Workshop

Sara Goberna Ferrón, MSCA IF postdoctoral fellow at Instituto de Tecnología Química (ITQ), was invited to talk about the ECO2fuel project at the European Research & Innovation Workshop focusing on the transformation and storage of renewable energies.

It took place on Friday, 28th October 2022, at the Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MAT-SUS) in Barcelona and was organised by Jose Ramón Galán (ICREA Research Professor and ICIQ).

During that day, European-funded collaborative projects described their approach, challenges and the status of their projects.

Sara gave the audience an overview of the project and talked about the consortium, the challenges of electrochemical CO2 reduction, and how we address these challenges.

“It was fascinating to learn about other European projects related to the transformation and storage of renewable energies, a perfect opportunity to exchange ideas and for networking. The keynote talk by Christine Courillon (ERC) on how the ERC funds research projects was also very interesting; as a young researcher, I could learn about the different career opportunities and funding options to continue my research path. Regarding the ECO2fuel project, the audience seemed truly interested in it, especially about the 5-kW demonstrator of the ancestor project LOTER.CO2M and the ambitious ECO2fuel goal to upscale and optimise the LOTER.CO2M technology at an industrial size of 1MW.”

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Meet us at the European Hydrogen Week in Brussels

Although the ECO2Fuel technology is independent of hydrogen, it is still an electrolysis technology carried out in an electrochemical membrane reactor like water electrolysis, a key technology to produce green hydrogen.

Dr. Schwan Hosseiny, Project Coordinator

Thus, being up to date in the water electrolysis field and knowing about the various technologies and approaches for improvement will help to accelerate the developments in the ECO2Fuel too.

Here the European Hydrogen Week 2022, the biggest annual event dedicated to hydrogen, offers a great platform to get a broad overview of the European hydrogen landscape, including the status of electrolysis technologies.

Therefore, ECO2Fuel project coordinator Dr. Schwan Hosseiny will attend the European Hydrogen Week to listen to the many interesting talks, meet and network with the players in the water electrolysis field and will be happy to discuss the latest developments in electrolysis, whether water or CO2 with you.