Project description
Harnessing time-asymmetric electrical waveforms for greener electrochemistry
The chemical industry is a significant contributor of industrial emissions, making its electrification a priority for Europe’s green transition. Using alternating electrochemical potentials to drive chemical reactions could improve sustainability. Research has lacked predictive methods and overlooked time-asymmetric waveforms despite chemical processes being asymmetric in time. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the POWER project aims to use time-asymmetric potentials to achieve predictive control of electrosynthetic processes. It will use a systematic, theory-based experimental approach for designing asymmetric electrical waveforms that precisely control non-equilibrium electrochemical reactions. This approach could deliver a step change in yield and energy efficiency and open access to compounds with promising therapeutic applications.
Objective
The chemical industry is the third-largest source of global industrial emissions, calling for electrification strategies in line with the REPowerEU Plan. Using alternating electrochemical potentials (i.e. alternating current with square or sinusoidal waveforms) to manufacture chemical products is a promising route to more sustainable transformations. Yet current research relies mainly on trial-and-error and has so far focused on time-symmetric waveforms, even though redox processes are inherently time-asymmetric.
POWER will introduce a systematic, theory-driven experimental approach to harnessing alternating waveforms to drive chemical reactions under nonequilibrium conditions, opening efficient and sustainable pathways for chemical manufacturing. It pioneers the use of time-asymmetric potentials to achieve predictive control of electrosynthetic processes. By informing mechanistic models with targeted experiments, the project will establish a reproducible framework for theory-driven waveform design. Redox-induced nonequilibrium self-assembly of a molecular machine and annihilation electrochemiluminescence experiments will serve as strategic testbeds for model development and validation. The methodology will then be applied to the electrochemical synthesis of non-natural amino acids under alternating polarity. The objective is to demonstrate experimentally quantifiable gains in yield and energy efficiency, with up to an order-of-magnitude improvement over the state of the art, and to enable access to derivatives currently inaccessible with existing protocols, including precursors of peptides implicated in oncology and other therapeutic domains.
By advancing cleaner and more efficient electrochemical manufacturing powered directly by electricity, POWER will help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, cut CO2 emissions, and accelerate Europe’s transition to a sustainable economy.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
67081 Strasbourg
France
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.