Objective
SAC3 takes the world’s first structured single-atom catalyst (demonstrated within the ERC StG “SAC_2.0” using vat photopolymerization) and does what laboratory discoveries rarely achieve: turns it into a manufacturable technology. The goal is not to discover a better catalyst but to validate a manufacturing process for obtaining atomically precise catalytic cartridges ready for integration into industrial continuous-flow reactors.
Conventional heterogeneous catalysts expose only 5-20% of their metal phase to reactants; single-atom catalysts raise this to nearly 100%. Yet, despite this exceptional efficiency, single-atom catalysts have not reached industrial reactors: produced exclusively as powders, they are incompatible with continuous-flow manufacturing, and the conventional route to overcome this (washcoating) requires high-temperature calcination that sinters isolated metal atoms into nanoparticles, destroying the atomic dispersion that defines their performance.
Our approach eliminates this problem at its source: support and metal precursors are co-formulated into a photopolymerizable resin and shaped layer-by-layer into any three-dimensional geometry to form the final cartridge in a single integrated process, with no binders, no washcoating, no calcination that destroys atomic dispersion. The result is a mechanically robust catalytic device verified by HAADF-STEM and EXAFS to contain exclusively atomically dispersed metal sites.
Preliminary data confirms the transformative potential of this platform: a structured Ni-based cartridge containing only 0.016 wt.% Ni, 100-fold less than the parent SAC powder, outperforms the powdered catalyst by 43% in productivity. SAC3 will validate these results at pre-industrial scale across multiple metal systems and reaction families, establishing the manufacturing, IP, and business foundations for a spinoff commercializing structured SAC cartridges to the global catalyst market.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering manufacturing engineering
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2026-POC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20133 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.