Five million euros for research into CO2-neutral fuels

Research projects awarded funding
A concise summary of each programme is available at www.fom.nl/co2. The following research projects were awarded funding:

• Computer-aided design of iron-sulfide nanocatalysts for the solar-driven conversion of CO₂ to fuels
  Dr. M. Barroso (Utrecht University), Prof. N.H. de Leeuw (Utrecht University) and Dr. J.P. Hofmann (Eindhoven University of Technology);
• Direct Production of Fuels from Captured CO₂
  Dr. M.A. Gleeson (FOM Institute DIFFER) and Prof. L. Lefferts (University of Twente); 
• Earth Abundant Materials based Monolithic Photovoltaic-Photo­electrochemical Device toward 15 percent Solar-to-Hydrogen Conversion Efficiencies
  Dr. A.H.M. Smets, Dr. W.A.S. Smith, Prof. B. Dam, Prof. M. Zeman (Delft University of Technology); 
• Photocatalytic silicon microwire membranes: efficient tools for water splitting devices
  Prof. J.G.E. Gardeniers and Prof. J. Huskens (University of Twente); 
• Plasma Chemistry at Work: efficient plasma-assisted fuel conversion through control of vibrational excitation
  Prof. G.J. van Rooij (FOM Institute DIFFER), Dr. R.A.H. Engeln (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Dr. W.C.M. Berden (Radboud University Nijmegen); 
• Surface Reactivity of Activated CO₂
  Dr. L. Juurlink (Leiden University) and Dr. M.A. Gleeson (FOM Institute DIFFER); Towards efficient low-temperature CO₂ electrolysis
  Prof. M.T.M. Koper, Prof. E. Bouwman, Dr. S. Bonnet and Dr. D.G.H. Hetterscheid (Leiden University).

CO₂-neutral fuels
The production of fuels from CO₂ and sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind energy is vitally important for the well-known storage issue: during the large-scale production of clean energy using fluctuating sustainable energy sources, storage is necessary as soon as there is too much energy so this can be used when there is a shortfall. Peaks and troughs in the energy production can be attenuated by not using the energy immediately but instead storing it in the form of chemical compounds in fuels, for example. Furthermore, by using CO₂ as one of the building blocks in the production, climate effects from the rising CO₂ levels worldwide can be alleviated. This can also give economic value to CO₂.

Assessment procedure
Once the call had opened in spring 2013, a total of 32 research proposals were submitted. An international panel of experts selected the 16 most promising project proposals that were eligible for further assessment. The submitters of the selected proposals were given the opportunity to further explain their proposal in an interview during a panel meeting in Utrecht. Based on this the panel compiled a report with assessments, the ranking of the proposals and the funding advice. The steering group of the call subsequently decided to accept the prioritisation of the expert panel without any changes, and in view of the available budget of five million euros it awarded funding to the first seven proposals in the ranking.

The research proposals submitted had to fall within one of the following four established themes: (1) Photocatalytic approaches for CO₂-neutral fuels: functional inorganic semiconductor materials, (2) Responsive matrices for CO₂-neutral production of solar fuels, (3) Out-of-equilibrium processing of solar fuels and (4) Process and reactor development for the downstream synthesis of fuels or chemicals. The panel was pleased to note that the level of the proposals submitted across the entire spectrum of subthemes was very high. In the panel's view, the combination of this research call and the earlier programme 'Towards BioSolar Cells' from 2010 has led to a very strong position within the international research field of solar fuels. In its report, the panel also made several recommendations about combining the expertise that is available in the Netherlands but which is not yet put to optimal use.

The overarching research programme 'CO₂-neutral fuels'
For the research programme CO₂-neutral fuels, set up from within the NWO theme Sustainable Energy and aligned with the top sector Energy, a budget of nine million euros is available. The programme has three parts: (1) the call 'CO₂-neutral fuels', of which five million euros has now been awarded; (2) the call 'Plasma Conversion of CO₂', which is focused more on applied research and is currently open for proposals. This call fits within the guidelines of the overarching programme but has a more specific research scope. For this call Technology Foundation STW and Alliander have made a sum of two million euros available (deadline 3 December 2013); (3) a programme in which two tenure track researchers can be appointed within the new research line Solar Fuels. This programme is running at the institute for fundamental energy research DIFFER.

In addition, under the auspices of NWO Chemical Sciences and in collaboration with FOM, a follow-up programme is being developed with the working title 'Bio-inspired energy storage in chemical compounds'. This programme has been included in the innovation contracts 2014-2015 for the Top sectors Chemistry and Energy.

More information
For further information please contact:
Dr. Michaël van den Berg, secretary to the research call 'CO₂-neutral fuels', +31 (0)70 344 07 43.
W. van de Wiel, press officer Shell, +31 (0)70 377 87 50.

Or you can consult the following webpages:
About entire research programme 'CO₂-neutral fuels'
About NWO: www.nwo.nl
About Shell: www.shell.com
About DIFFER: www.differ.nl

On Sunday 24 November the Dutch TV programme Labyrint broadcasted an item about CO₂ as a fuel: http://www.wetenschap24.nl/programmas/labyrint/labyrint-tv/2013/november/CO2.html