Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EcoFuel (Renewable Electricity-based, cyclic and economic production of Fuel)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-07-01 do 2023-12-31
The EcoFuel approach brings together chemists, physicists, engineers and dissemination and exploitation experts in a well-balanced mix from 4 universities/research institutions, 2 SMEs and 3 industries, joining their key technologies to develop and exploit a novel complete process chain, based on the power of electrochemistry to deliver green CO2 neutral fuels with an unprecedented overall energy efficiency. Within 36 months project duration, the EcoFuel technology underwent a thorough material and component R&D program and together with its significant industry involvement this project set on a unique path toward new technology developments up to TRL 4 resp. 5 that will have lasting impact on the European renewable energy system. Process performance was validated by in-depth impact assessment both in terms of techno economic as well as ecological.
In the second project periodic, the following production process related milestones were achieved:
• Design and develop a new ED-DAC technology
• Demonstration of CO2 DAC at small scale and delivery of captured CO2
• Successful synthesis of novel nanostructured, bimetallic and tandem anode OER and cathode ECO2R electrocatalysts
• Integration of the newly developed catalysts into an advanced cathode electrode architecture and optimization of its performance in preparation for scale up to industrial relevant sizes
• Scale-up operations to 300cm2-sized electrodes in a cell stack operating at ~1 kW
• OSU: Identification of a polymer for the membrane separation process, fabrication of a membrane module, and characterization thereof
• Complete set-up of stacked electrochemical system and thermo-catalytic system
• Reaction cascade to fuel products:
o Engineering and construction of electro-chemical and thermo-catalytic systems,
o Operation and validation of individual process steps under industrially relevant process conditions
o Improvement of reaction cascade for optimised synthesis of fuel products
The outstanding overall project achievements at M36:
• An alternative production pathway for an efficient, ecological and economic viable synthetic fuel developed
• TRL 4 (5) successfully achieved
• 6 patent applications
• Demonstration in reaction cascade successful
Based on the technical results achieved in EcoFuel, the project was able to provide following outlook and the business potential:
• EcoFuel fuel charge shows the potential to be qualified as drop-in fuel for transport sector application
• Potential applications of different EcoFuel pathway components identified:
o Sustainable ethylene
o Sustainable fuel
o Catalyst coated membranes (CCM) for PEM electrolysers
The technical achievements were supported by following networking and dissemination activities:
• 22 Conference presentations
• 5 further scientific publications
• Organization of a dedicated ‘EcoFuel Summit’
• Participation in the Horizon H2020 Cluster CCUS activity, working group ‘LCA on CCUS’
EcoFuel project has the aspiration to bring green fuels closer to the market and to accelerate the industrialisation. With this ambition, the major expectations of EcoFuel can be summarized as:
• improving performance of synthetic fuels as regards the efficiency, the environment and society, developing a more efficient electrochemical-based production process chain with reduced energy conversion losses
• compatible with existing engine technology and fuel infrastructure, i.e. consideration of the whole process chain (from electricity to tank to wheel)
• estimate the potential of the direct monetary impact of the more energy efficient process of EcoFuel, making green fuels economically viable
• innovation capacity, competitiveness and creation of new market opportunities
All consortium partners are deeply interested in exploiting the project innovations, and each of them may exploit assets through different paths. Due to the nature of EcoFuel project and the partners involved, the exploitation and dissemination network of the partners comprises the overall process for synthetic fuels, both producers as well as consumers, as well as technology elements and process steps of it like Direct Air Capture, electro-catalytic reduction of CO2 to C2/C3alkenes, thermo-catalytic liquefaction of alkenes, and the upgrading and fractionation to drop-in transport fuels. Finally, stakeholders interested in the economic and/or ecological viability of the process and the final product, in the industrialisation and commercialisation of the up-scaled product.