bert thursdaylecture sunergy · -3 -2 -1 0 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000 u (v) j n h 3 (m a.c - m 2) 1 10...

SUNERGY VISIONHow Fossil-free Fuels and Chemicals Can Contribute to

the European Green Deal

Bert Weckhuysen - University of Utrecht, SUNERGY Coordinator

SUNERGY Kick-Off Event, The Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU, Feb 6, 2020

The Climate Challenge: Urgent Action

Morice, C. P., J.J. Kennedy, N.a. Rayner, and P.D.Jones (2012), J. Geophys. Res., 117, d08101

C. D. Keeling, S. C. Piper, R. B. Bacastow, M. Wahlen, T. P. Whorf,M. Heimann, and H. A. Meijer, I. Global aspects, SIO ReferenceSeries, No. 01-06, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego,.

Rise in Temperature & CO2 Emissions Cause Climate Change SUNERGY Kick-Off Event, The Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU, Feb 6, 2020

From Oil Refinery to E-Refinery

Image: Jakob KibsgaardSUNERGY Kick-Off Event, The Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU, Feb 6, 2020

SUNERGY Vision: Disruptive Technologies


SUNERGY: Uniting EU to Address Grand Challenge

• March 2019 Start of the H2020 CSAs SUNRISE and ENERGY-X (FETFLAG-01-2018)

• June 2019 Joint proposal “Fossil Free Fuels, Chemicals and Materials for a circular economy” for a Partnership in Horizon Europe

• Aug 2019 Merging at the end of 2 the CSAs announced (EuropaCat)

• February 2020 Establishment of a common S&T implementation plan & governanceEnd of the two CSAs

• As of March 2020 - ramp-up to a large-scale research initiative

+SUNERGY Kick-Off Event, The Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU, Feb 6, 2020

Research needs towards sustainable production of fuels and chemicals

Sunrise Technological RoadmapENERGY-X Research Needs report


https://sunriseaction.com/sunrise-releases-its-technological-roadmap-to-a-clean-energy-eu

http://www.energy-x.eu/research-needs-report/

Image: Jakob KibsgaardSUNERGY Kick-Off Event, The Representation of the State of Hessen to the EU, Feb 6, 2020

Overarching Themes

• Discovery of new catalysts and processes

• Heterogeneous, homogeneous & bio/enzymatic catalysis

• Different length scales of importances; materials & chemical engineering

• Scale-up to meet TWh needs

• Engagement of stakeholders


Discovery of New Catalysts and Processes• Current catalysts are not active

and selective enough to be economically viable

• Conventional trial-and error experimentation not enough:à - Science-guided discovery

- Inspiration form nature

• New tools are in placeà - Data driven (AI) discovery

- Nano-scale synthesis- Operando characterization

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Scale-up to Meet TWh Needs

• New modular reactor concepts

• Intermittent and decentralized operation

• Accelerated transition from bench-top to pilot scale

• CO2 capture and transport

SUNERGY: Main Links to European Green Deal


Why?: Renewable Energy Affordability


Why?: Energy Storage Highly Needed

• Renewable energy sources are intermittent and solutions for storage must be developed

• Batteries offer part of a solution but have low energy density compared with currently used fuels

• Impact not only on Transportation/Mobility, but also on a.o. Chemical, Steel & Cement Industry


Biogas Formation

Water Electrolysis


Power-to-EGAS Concept (Werlte, Germany)

CO2 from Biogas

Natural Gas Grid

CO2Methanation

Power-to-EGAS Concept (Werlte, Germany)



Integrated Waste-to-Energy & Products Refinery?

SUNERGY Vision: How To Create Impact?


• Systemic change, systemic approach for the transformation of the energy system –

End goal: full CO2 reduction

• Mobilising a critical mass/ecosystem along the value chain• Towards a pan-European platform on sustainable fuels and chemicals• Coordination EU and national priorities• Across-industries, across-disciplines, across topics• Continuous dialogue science-technology-economy-society

• Opportunities for European industry – SUNERGY• Contributes to support competitiveness of Europe´s chemical industry on a global scale• Contributes to new industrial value chains based on sustainable feedstocks, making European energy and chemical production more

competitive & cleaner• Contributes to decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries• Engages with industry

• Impact on people`s life, societal needs• Climate change mitigation, creation of new jobs, development of distributed solutions to reduce impact on local communities,

securing energy and use of European resources, increasing energy accessibility and resource efficiency, fostering an innovativeecosystem with engagement of societal players

SUNERGY Vision: How To Create Impact?


Urgent Need for a Major, Coordinated Effort• No sustainable future without chemical

energy storage and new “green” chemistry– integral part of “European Green Deal”

• Need scientific breakthroughs tightly coupled with scale-up for TWh production

• Need multi-pronged attack – we do not know what the winning strategy is– we need to employ a vast array of scientific tools and approaches– we needed to couple academia, industry and policy


Engagement of Stakeholders & Outlook

• Engagement of industry – existing and

start-up

• Towards goverments: Regulatory

framework to make “green” cost-

competitive

• Governance (Industrial board;

Management board; …)

• Use of Logo in future calls; what is the

“SUNERGY umbella”

• Membership (fee, benefits & rights)

• How to develop joint programs


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