Integrated COnversion of NItrate and Carbonate streams

Project Information

ICONIC

Grant agreement ID: 101115204

DOI

10.3030/101115204

EC signature date 19 June 2023

Start date 1 November 2023

End date 30 April 2027

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 3 964 666,25

EU contribution

€ 3 964 666,25

Coordinated by

FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ICONIC (Integrated COnversion of NItrate and Carbonate streams)

Reporting period: 2023-11-01 to 2024-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The widespread use of fossil fuels has been a primary driver of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission and global warming. In particular, the production of ammonia-derived fertilizers, which rely on natural gas, has contributed with ~2% of the global CO2 emissions. In parallel, the deployment of fertilizer-dependent intensive large-scale agriculture has led to an alarming cumulative increase of nitrates from unabsorbed fertilizers in water streams. Altogether, these events have sparked increases in global temperature, ocean acidification, eutrophication and health hazards, among others.ICONIC aims to develop a new electrochemical technology to jointly address the carbon and nitrogen cycles through the direct co-electrolysis of (bi)carbonate and nitrate species from waste and seawater into urea. Such integrated approach would also enable:
a) An energy-efficient value chain, with abundant raw materials and high-demand C/N products.
b) Net zero/decentralized operation, directly coupled to renewable electricity.
c) A circular fertilizer pathway, managing both the C and N cycles simultaneously.
The 3-year project is being led by promising early-career and consolidated researchers from leading EU institutions, who put forward cutting-edge scientific knowledge and interdisciplinarity to deliver specific breakthrough results, including:
•Modelling and accelerated rational design of non-CRM (Critical Raw Material) catalysts.•Novel catalyst synthesis and advanced characterization to assess performance.•Catalysts implementation into reactor-level systems, both with ideal and seawater streams.•First proof-of-concept of direct co-electrolysis of (bi)carbonate and nitrates in a seawater.•Prospective techno-economic (TEA) and life cycle (LCA) assessments for future R&D.•Communication of project results to different targeted audiences, raising social awareness. •Building of a strong IP portfolio as a baseline for future exploitation pathways in key market(s).
As the project develops and the technical risk is decreased, it is envisaged that ICONIC could provide a commercially viable solution to produce green urea which, when scaled up, could compete with fossil fuel derived equivalents. Urea is a critical feedstock for the fertilizer industry, with a yearly global consumption of ~50 Mton, ~4% of which is consumed by the EU-27 and is largely dependent on foreign imports (~33% from Russia). Under such market constraints, novel “made@EU” green urea technologies could play a major role in reducing foreign dependence, while also fostering decentralized carbon-neutral applications at improved efficiency and competitive costs. In this sense, the potential impact of ICONIC’s technology on the future EU economy could be quite significant while fortifying the EU’s leadership in R&I in the field. Moreover, ICONIC could offer a path to ecosystem restoration (both reducing water eutrophication and acidification) and mitigating climate change.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

ICONIC’s novel strategy builds on: (i) the exploration of novel reaction mechanisms towards the coupling of nitrate and reactive carbon species (CO2 regenerated in situ from carbonates); (ii) the design of catalysts tailored for these reaction mechanisms based on non-CRM for the sustainable and selective production of urea and other high-value C-N chemicals; (iii) the implementation of these catalysts into mesostructured electrodes to enable high-rates and (iv) the implementation of these electrodes into scalable electrochemical reactors.Within this first 12 months of the project, ICONIC has performed the following activities that have led to the main following achievements:•A deepened understanding or reaction pathways of mechanisms for C-N coupling •The prediction of families of materials, primarily based on non-critical ray materials, which could facilitate reactant activation and selective C-N coupling.•The tunable synthesis of a subset of this family of materials using different synthetic protocols and their materials characterization. •The fundamental characterization of these catalysts using in situ photo, electrochemical, and mechanical probes such as laser-induced transients, cyclic voltammetry, scanning tunnelling microscopy, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopies.•The synthesis and characterization of benchmark catalysts and electrodes based on literature results, as well as their implementation into electrochemical flow cell reactors.•The quantitative assessment of methods to detect urea with sufficient accuracy for this target application.•The definition and implementation of “IP & Innovation Management” and “Exploitation” plans to manage the generated results and identify market trends and players.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The achievements from this first 12 months translate into the following results, whose exploitation potential can be preliminarily assessed in terms of KERs (see sec. 6 – Results and Part B for further information):
1.Model for the accelerated discovery of non-CRM C/N reduction catalysts 2.Development of synthetic protocols to realize metal-based catalysts3.Reliable urea quantification protocol 4.Mechanistic understanding of the electrochemical interface and the role of reaction intermediates on the selective production of urea.
These KERs will be the baseline for ICONIC’s exploitation plans, including both joint (overall technology) and individual (component level) pathways.Given the exploratory nature of the technology, IPR protection will be key to set a solid baseline for future exploitation activities, which will be largely guided by feedback received from stakeholders along the fertilizer value chain as well as recommendations from ICONIC’s Industrial Advisory Board. Once the project ends at an expected TRL4, there will still be a need for:•TRL-increasing R&D, requiring public and/or private financing. •Pre-business plan development, market studies, contacts with investors.•IPR support in the form of post-project patent expense funding.•Support by providing contacts with policy makers and standardization bodies.

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