Descripción del proyecto
Tecnología fotónica para convertir el dióxido de carbono en combustibles
El proyecto SPOTLIGHT, financiado con fondos europeos, trabajará en un nuevo dispositivo fotónico para convertir dióxido de carbono e hidrógeno en metano y monóxido de carbono, que es el material de partida para la producción de metanol. Tanto los combustibles de metano como de metanol podrían utilizarse en automóviles y aplicaciones de almacenamiento de energía. El dispositivo fotónico de SPOTLIGHT contará con un reactor de flujo transparente optimizado para el acoplamiento de la luz en el lecho del catalizador, ópticas solares secundarias para concentrar la luz solar y proyectarla en el reactor, y un diodo emisor de luz energéticamente eficiente para lograr un funcionamiento continuo día y noche. El nuevo dispositivo y el concepto de procesamiento son adecuados para fuentes de CO2 de hasta 1 Mt por año, lo que los hace complementarios a los procesos existentes de captura y utilización de carbono a gran escala.
Objetivo
SPOTLIGHT’s key objective is to develop and validate a photonic device and chemical process concept for the sunlight-powered conversion of CO2 and green H2 to the chemical fuel methane (CH4, Sabatier process), and to carbon monoxide (CO, reverse water gas shift process) as starting material for production of the chemical fuel methanol (CH3OH). Both CH4 and CH3OH are compatible with our current infrastructure, and suited for multiple applications such as car fuel, energy storage, and starting material for the production of valuable chemicals.
SPOTLIGHT’s photonic device will comprise a transparent flow reactor, optimized for light incoupling in the catalyst bed. Furthermore, it will comprise secondary solar optics to concentrate natural sunlight and project it onto the reactor, and an energy efficient LED light source to ensure continuous 24/7 operation.
SPOTLIGHT’s catalysts will be plasmonic catalysts, capable of absorbing the entire solar spectrum. The space-time-yield achieved to date with these catalysts in the Sabatier and rWGS process are > 104 times higher than for conventional semiconductor catalysts. This makes the concept technically feasible for scale up without excessive land use, and makes it economically much more attractive because of strongly reduced capital expenditures.
SPOTLIGHT’s photonic device and process concept are perfectly suited for CO2 sources up to 1 Mt p.a. which makes them complementary to existing large scale CCU processes. For the EU, we estimate that the annual CO2 reduction through use of SPOTLIGHT’s technology is maximized to 800 Mt, which is approximately 18% of the current annual total. This could generate an amount of CH4 produced in the EU which equals 14.5 EJ of energy, corresponding to 21% of the EU’s current annual energy use, and representing a value of € 393 bil. Ergo, SPOTLIGHT’s technology reduces the dependence of the EU on non-EU countries for its energy supply, and initiates a new multi-billion industry.
Ámbito científico
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryalcohols
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-ICT-2020-2
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
2595 DA Den Haag
Países Bajos