CONDOR

COmbined suN-Driven Oxidation and CO₂ Reduction
for renewable energy storage

Call identifier: H2020-LC-SC3-2020-RES-RIA
Topic: LC-SC3-RES-1-2019-2020 Developing the next generation of renewable energy technologies
Starting date: 1st November 2020
Duration of the project: 48 months

Abstract:

Conversion of sunlight into fuels and mitigation of anthropogenic climate change are big scientific challenges. CONDOR addresses both of them by developing highly efficient solar-driven conversion of CO₂ into fuels and added-value chemicals. We propose a photosynthetic device made of two compartments (a) a photoelectrochemical cell that splits water and CO₂ and generates oxygen and syngas, a mixture of H₂ and CO; (b) a (photo)reactor that converts syngas into methanol and dimethylether (DME), via bi-functional heterogeneous catalysts. The proposed modular approach enables different configurations depending on the target product. The oxidation process is not limited to O₂ production, but entails chlorine and small organic molecules, such as 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, derived from the oxidation of low-cost and easily available precursors like salt water or alcohol derived biomass, respectively. Employed materials will be obtained through low energy/low temperature routes, mainly based on wet chemical procedures, such as sol-gel chemistry, mild hydrothermal processes, electrochemical processes at ambient temperature. Raw materials/precursors will not be limited by availability on a global scale, making use of organic species, silicon, earth abundant metal oxides, first row transition metals. The final target is a full photosynthetic device with 8% solar-to-syngas and 6% solar-to-DME efficiencies with three-months continuous outdoor operation.
This represents a large progress with respect to the state of the art and requires an international collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach, which integrates expertise in nanomaterials preparation and characterisation by operando microscopy and spectroscopy, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, photochemistry/photoelectrochemistry, PEC engineering and assessment of the environmental and socio-economic impact of the proposed technology, including life cycle assessment.

List of participants:

No.	Participant organisation name	Short name	Country
1.	Alma Mater Studiorum – Universita Di Bologna	UNIBO	Italy
2.	Fundacio Privada Institut Catala D’Investigacio Quimica	ICIQ	Spain
3.	Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche	CNR	Italy
4.	Universiteit Utrecht	UU	Netherlands
5.	Universita Degli Studi Di Ferrara	Unife	Italy
6.	ENGIE	ENGIE	France
7.	Belgisch Laboratorium Van De Elektriciteitsindustrie Laborelec CVBA	LAB	Belgium
8.	HYGEAR BV	HyGear B.V.	Netherlands
9.	Amires s.r.o.	AMI	Czech Republic
	International partner: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), USA

Contact persons:
Project Coordinator: Prof. Paola Ceroni, paola.ceroni(at)unibo.it
Project Manager: Anastasia Grozdanova, grozdanova(at)amires.eu

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006839