Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Innovalyst (INNOVATIVE ROUTES TO NOVEL CATALYST FOR UTILISING RENEWABLE ENERGIES)
Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-03-31
The alarming increase in the amount of green-house gases in the atmosphere and its severe climate consequences will put life on earth at risk if no quick action is taken on a global scale. While the threat of climate change has resulted in several international political measures such as the Paris Climate Accord for dealing with greenhouse gases emissions, a large technological barrier to tackle this threat needs to be overcome.
Abundant renewable sources such as water and wind, especially in Northwestern Europe, provide great opportunities for generating clean power. While wind can be used to produce electricity, the electrolysis of water produces H2, a valuable energy carrier, which can compete with fossil-based fuels in terms of heat content. The main obstacle in developing the H2 economy is, however, its storage since it is the lightest element in existence and extremely difficult to store. Besides, other sources, such as environmental waste, can be explored for producing H2. Here, C2CAT expertise in catalytic production and storage of H2 will come into play. Another route followed at C2CAT to achieve and keep a clean environment is the design and development of commercial catalysts for producing green chemicals from waste (captured) CO2. An example use case of this is dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with a current market value of more than 350M€ and a market price of 0.7-1.1€/kg. The DMC market is segmented into key applications, including polycarbonates, solvents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and reagents (e.g. methylation). It is estimated that only from the polycarbonate industry, the generated revenue will exceed 20,000M€ by the end of 2025 due to widespread applications in automotive and electronics, which will be a key factor in stimulating the DMC market size by 2025. DMC’s Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is projected at 6.6%. The problem with the production growth of DMC is the current toxic route used in the production process, which is being more and more restricted by environmental regulations. C2CAT offers tailor-designed catalysts for mild and environmental-friendly processes of (captured) CO2 conversion. In light of the above, C2CAT sees a great opportunity for development. There is strong expertise available at C2CAT to find catalytic solutions for H2 production and storage applications and to find viable routes to utilise CO2, a compound which is otherwise regarded as an environmental hazard.
Abundant renewable sources such as water and wind, especially in Northwestern Europe, provide great opportunities for generating clean power. While wind can be used to produce electricity, the electrolysis of water produces H2, a valuable energy carrier, which can compete with fossil-based fuels in terms of heat content. The main obstacle in developing the H2 economy is, however, its storage since it is the lightest element in existence and extremely difficult to store. Besides, other sources, such as environmental waste, can be explored for producing H2. Here, C2CAT expertise in catalytic production and storage of H2 will come into play. Another route followed at C2CAT to achieve and keep a clean environment is the design and development of commercial catalysts for producing green chemicals from waste (captured) CO2. An example use case of this is dimethyl carbonate (DMC) with a current market value of more than 350M€ and a market price of 0.7-1.1€/kg. The DMC market is segmented into key applications, including polycarbonates, solvents, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and reagents (e.g. methylation). It is estimated that only from the polycarbonate industry, the generated revenue will exceed 20,000M€ by the end of 2025 due to widespread applications in automotive and electronics, which will be a key factor in stimulating the DMC market size by 2025. DMC’s Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is projected at 6.6%. The problem with the production growth of DMC is the current toxic route used in the production process, which is being more and more restricted by environmental regulations. C2CAT offers tailor-designed catalysts for mild and environmental-friendly processes of (captured) CO2 conversion. In light of the above, C2CAT sees a great opportunity for development. There is strong expertise available at C2CAT to find catalytic solutions for H2 production and storage applications and to find viable routes to utilise CO2, a compound which is otherwise regarded as an environmental hazard.
Business model upgrade including market analysis and commercial plan
Tasks performed and the outcomes are as follows:
Task 1: Market assessment (M1 - M3):
1.1 Identification and verification of at least 3 very well-suited market segments for the initial commercialisation of the innovative catalysts;
1.2 Detailed specification of these market segments regarding market size, growth rate, achievable market share, market trends, potential market barriers, regulatory framework, geographical segmentation, target customers and users;
1.3 Calculation of the profitability for the selected market segments including customers’ willingness to pay;
1.4 Analysis of the competitive situation within the market segments and establishment of strategies to address them, including in-depth IPR-analysis and knowledge protection measures;
1.5 Elaboration and verification of ideal sales concepts for the market segments;
1.6 Ranking of market segments for a commercial roadmap to address them, qualitatively and quantitatively.
Task 2: Customer validation (M3 - M4):
2.1 Identification of at least 10 specific customers in the European and Asian market;
2.2 Verification of customer needs;
2.3 Validation of innovation parameters and performance with first potential customers.
Task 3: Profitability analysis (M4-M7):
3.1 Analysis of the internal resources and capacities available and required to realise the commercial plan;
3.2 Development of several cost-benefit scenarios, including recruitment requirements and outsourcing options, in order to thoroughly define the financing requirement.
Task 4: Updating and validation of the business model (M5-M8):
4.1 Analysis of the current business model and evaluation of potential future business models, such as direct sales or two-stage sales, in an interactive way with activities carried out in Task 3.
4.2 Identification, classification and evaluation of possible cross-selling opportunities resulting from potential further developments.
4.3 Development of a roadmap for the certification of quality management systems.
Task 5: IPR protection plan (M8-M10):
5.1 Collaboration with IP experts to prepare a global strategy for the protection of existing knowledge. 5.2 Analysis of associated resources (costs, time, etc.) to protect knowledge and intangible assets.
5.3 Consideration of regulatory aspects, standardisation and certification.
Task 6: Business plan (M9-M10):
6.1 Elaboration of the business plans for the identified market segments and integration into the overall updated business plan;
6.2 Identification of the needs for distribution and collaboration partners;
6.3 Detailed calculation of the overall financing (incl. financing strategies) and expected ROI of the innovation; 6.4 Further elaboration of the commercialisation strategy and implementation plan to reach the market.
Task 7: Leadership mentoring, sales coaching and investor-readiness training (M1-M10):
7.1 Professional coaching sessions to boost the leadership skills, innovation and communication culture within the company.
7.2 Individual sales coaching sessions for the leaders and the team to enhance the performance and to understand how to achieve the sales goals.
7.3 Investor-readiness training sessions for the woman leader and her team.
Tasks performed and the outcomes are as follows:
Task 1: Market assessment (M1 - M3):
1.1 Identification and verification of at least 3 very well-suited market segments for the initial commercialisation of the innovative catalysts;
1.2 Detailed specification of these market segments regarding market size, growth rate, achievable market share, market trends, potential market barriers, regulatory framework, geographical segmentation, target customers and users;
1.3 Calculation of the profitability for the selected market segments including customers’ willingness to pay;
1.4 Analysis of the competitive situation within the market segments and establishment of strategies to address them, including in-depth IPR-analysis and knowledge protection measures;
1.5 Elaboration and verification of ideal sales concepts for the market segments;
1.6 Ranking of market segments for a commercial roadmap to address them, qualitatively and quantitatively.
Task 2: Customer validation (M3 - M4):
2.1 Identification of at least 10 specific customers in the European and Asian market;
2.2 Verification of customer needs;
2.3 Validation of innovation parameters and performance with first potential customers.
Task 3: Profitability analysis (M4-M7):
3.1 Analysis of the internal resources and capacities available and required to realise the commercial plan;
3.2 Development of several cost-benefit scenarios, including recruitment requirements and outsourcing options, in order to thoroughly define the financing requirement.
Task 4: Updating and validation of the business model (M5-M8):
4.1 Analysis of the current business model and evaluation of potential future business models, such as direct sales or two-stage sales, in an interactive way with activities carried out in Task 3.
4.2 Identification, classification and evaluation of possible cross-selling opportunities resulting from potential further developments.
4.3 Development of a roadmap for the certification of quality management systems.
Task 5: IPR protection plan (M8-M10):
5.1 Collaboration with IP experts to prepare a global strategy for the protection of existing knowledge. 5.2 Analysis of associated resources (costs, time, etc.) to protect knowledge and intangible assets.
5.3 Consideration of regulatory aspects, standardisation and certification.
Task 6: Business plan (M9-M10):
6.1 Elaboration of the business plans for the identified market segments and integration into the overall updated business plan;
6.2 Identification of the needs for distribution and collaboration partners;
6.3 Detailed calculation of the overall financing (incl. financing strategies) and expected ROI of the innovation; 6.4 Further elaboration of the commercialisation strategy and implementation plan to reach the market.
Task 7: Leadership mentoring, sales coaching and investor-readiness training (M1-M10):
7.1 Professional coaching sessions to boost the leadership skills, innovation and communication culture within the company.
7.2 Individual sales coaching sessions for the leaders and the team to enhance the performance and to understand how to achieve the sales goals.
7.3 Investor-readiness training sessions for the woman leader and her team.
Several tests were conducted to validate the target market and the clients after a thorough market segmentation study. This was greatly supported by the coaching sessions.
Potential impact are as follows:
Hydrogen as a molecule has been attracting great interest due to being an ideal carbon-free energy carrier. It does not contain carbon, and when it burns, does not release CO2, but produces water. As the race is on for creating an economy based on renewable, alternative fuels, the project is on the cusp of providing low-carbon conversion solutions. With its technology for producing tailor-made catalysts for H2 production and storage, C2CAT has a unique position at growing the green H2 market and creating jobs. C2CAT provides a game-changing contribution to mitigating climate change via developing a process that will allow for easier market penetration of green hydrogen and energy storage materials. This will accelerate the transition to a circular economy by using renewable resources as a feedstock for carbon-free fuels and contribute significantly to job creation.
Fyrther access to finance will tremendously help with respect to scaling the results of this project, commercialisation and activities with respect to market entry and regulations.
Potential impact are as follows:
Hydrogen as a molecule has been attracting great interest due to being an ideal carbon-free energy carrier. It does not contain carbon, and when it burns, does not release CO2, but produces water. As the race is on for creating an economy based on renewable, alternative fuels, the project is on the cusp of providing low-carbon conversion solutions. With its technology for producing tailor-made catalysts for H2 production and storage, C2CAT has a unique position at growing the green H2 market and creating jobs. C2CAT provides a game-changing contribution to mitigating climate change via developing a process that will allow for easier market penetration of green hydrogen and energy storage materials. This will accelerate the transition to a circular economy by using renewable resources as a feedstock for carbon-free fuels and contribute significantly to job creation.
Fyrther access to finance will tremendously help with respect to scaling the results of this project, commercialisation and activities with respect to market entry and regulations.