Project description
A viable approach to deriving clean fuel from sunlight
Solar fuels are synthetic fuels produced from water, sunlight and CO2. Relying on the principle of the "proton-coupled electron transfer" (PCET) reaction, they avoid the production of hydrogen and offer a sustainable alternative to coal, oil and other fossil fuels. However, further improvements in the photocatalyst and reactor technology are required to make solar fuel production scalable and affordable. The EU-funded DESIRED project plans to develop a novel fuel production system powered by sunlight that will process CO2 and water in parallel to produce multi-carbon, energy-rich products. The planned system will be a novel flow reactor utilising recyclable hybrid electrocatalysts to produce CH3OH and C2+ solar fuels also usable as precursors of sustainable aviation fuels. DESIRED targets sectors where a direct shift to the use of batteries or hydrogen is not yet viable.
Objective
Solar fuels, produced via solar driven CO2 and water conversion can contribute to drastically reducing GHG emissions and implement a man-made carbon-cycle complementing the natural-one, deploying the circular economy strategy. However, at present, significant improvement in the photocatalysts and reactor technology is required for solar fuels’ production to become technically feasible, scalable, affordable, secure, sustainable, and efficient. DESIRED is a high-risk high-return project, focused on establishing the technological feasibility and sustainability of a novel fuel production system – the DESIRED system – for direct coprocessing of, possibly atmospheric, CO2 and water to produce multi-carbon (C2+) energy-rich products using sunlight as primary energy source. The DESIRED system will produce C2+ solar fuels (without overlooking C1 species such as methanol or methane) by direct coprocessing of CO2 and water using novel and recyclable hybrid photo-electrocatalysts, supported on frustules or zeolites, in an innovative photoreactor design applying, for the first time, oscillatory flow principles, combined with direct light irradiation. With regards to applications, DESIRED will focus on products, which, by 2050, would be used per se or as intermediates to produce drop-in fuels for sectors where direct shift to batteries or H2 is not a technically and cost-efficient option (e.g. aviation). Knowledge of the economic affordability, environmental benefits, and social acceptability of this approach will be investigated. DESIRED promotes an interdisciplinary approach to research and innovation undertaken by a consortium of 7 European partners and complemented by cross-cutting activities including modelling, process simulation, sustainability, and techno-economic assessment as well as impactful dissemination, communication, capacity-building and exploitation activities that support the exchange of knowledge across and beyond the consortium and project.
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HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
70126 Bari
Italy