Brightsite Plasmalab officially opened

18-11-2021 | P2Chemicals

Brightsite, Brightlands Chemelot Campus and Maastricht University open a plasmalab, contributing to a sustainable future for the chemical industry

On November 18th 2021, the Brightsite Plasmalab opened officially on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen (NL). Researchers from Maastricht University and its Brightsite partners TNO and Sitech Services will work collaboratively in this lab to optimize existing plasma technology and develop new plasma processes. This will make it possible to electrify chemical processes using (green) electricity and to produce hydrogen and raw materials for the chemical industry without releasing any CO₂. The creation of the Brightsite Plasmalab is thus a major step toward sustainable, efficient industrial applications for plasma technology within the chemical industry. The Brightsite Plasmalab will be VoltaChem's key research facility for R&D on plasma as a promising upcoming Power-2-X technology.

Prof. dr. Gerard van Rooij, Professor of Plasma Chemistry at Maastricht University and Head of the Brightsite Plasmalab: “Plasma technology is THE innovative chemical process technology that is based on green electricity. By combining the capabilities of plasma in our new lab with innovative, state-of-the-art technologies and also carrying out fundamental research, we expect to make major breakthroughs in sustainability.”

What makes the Brightsite Plasmalab so special?

The establishment of the Brightsite Plasmalab is a major step towards the industrial application of plasma technology within chemistry, in an efficient and sustainable manner.

“We are one of the few that can really see into the plasma ‘black box’, only a few other labs can do that. What makes our lab stand out is that we combine this with experiments under high pressure and power on a larger scale. There are more labs that carry out experiments with potentially dangerous molecules, but not in the quantities at which we can do that. Because we are located at the Chemelot site, there is a lot of safety awareness and knowledge and we can do experiments that other labs cannot do this safely and in a controlled manner. Our goal is to work towards the application of plasma technology on an industrial scale,” says Van Rooij. The Brightsite Plasmalab is open to everyone. Van Rooij: “We are advocates of open science – anyone is basically welcome to do experiments.

Lab tour

The development of new and efficient plasma processes will pave the way to a circular chemical industry free of CO₂ emissions. This technology will play a major role in transitioning chemistry to a sustainable future. Hans Linden, Program Manager Brightsite on behalf of Brightsite partner TNO/VoltaChem and Gerard van Rooij give a unique insight into the newly opened Plasmalab, where researchers and engineers will be able to safely conduct the experiments that are needed in order to be able to scale up plasma technology to industrial levels.

 

Share this page: