Second edition of VoltaChem’s Power-2-X Tour will be all about opportunities in electrochemical CO2 utilization

14-06-2021 | P2Chemicals

The VoltaChem Power-2-x Tour is a series of online events that provides a deep dive into key developments in industrial electrification. The second edition will be held on June 30th focusing on ‘Opportunities in electrochemical CO2 utilization’- a subject that is at the heart of VoltaChem's program line Power-2-Chemicals. The online event features an interactive talk show streamed live from the Total premises in Feluy, Belgium. Experts from around the world will contribute with video pitches.

VoltaChem's program director Martijn de Graaff is looking forward to welcome an audience of R&D managers working on, or with a keen interest in, CO₂ utilization: "It will be all about CO₂ as a starting point to obtain chemical building blocks that can be used for useful products ranging from plastics and food additives to fuels". In the successful first edition of the Power-2-X-Tour, De Graaff mentions, the stage was set and the relevance of industrial electrification was explained in the perspective of the sustainable future of the Northwest Europe chemical industry cluster. "From the second edition on, we will focus on 'hardcore technology' that will provide opportunities for making the chemical industry truly sustainable."

Live from Belgium

On June 30 the focus will be on Power-2-chemicals and more specific on ‘Opportunities in electrochemical CO₂ utilization: From high-value products to high-volume impact’. The session will be broadcast from Total at its Feluy location just south of Brussels, where already the first steps are being made towards utilization of carbon dioxide. Program director Martijn de Graaff will co-host the session on behalf of VoltaChem, together with host Jerre Maas. He will be joined by Anca Anastasopol who is leading the VoltaChem shared research program in capture-integrated electrochemical CO₂ conversion. Other table guests are Erica Ording, team & technology lead of the VOLTA program of Avantium, and Moritz Schreiber, Project leader CO₂ electroconversion, Refining & Chemicals at Total Energies.

The experts at the table will discuss the challenges and opportunities of electrochemical CO₂ conversion. De Graaff ensures that all efforts will be made to establish a meaningful interaction with the online audience. Adding to the discussions will be the participation of experts through video presentations. Wouter van Winden, principal scientist fermentation at DSM will present experiences with low-temperature CO₂ utilization for high-value applications, and Karl Hauptmeier from Norsk e-Fuel will provide input on high-temperature electrochemical CO₂ conversion for application towards bulk chemicals. Last but not least Prof. David Sinton will participate from the University of Toronto, Canada. "Sinton is a globally recognized expert", De Graaff says. "We are really proud that he has agreed to participate".  

Identifying challenges and solutions

In the course of the meeting, at first the importance of CO₂ as a future carbon source will be discussed; this so-called recarbonization will enable the production of materials and chemicals in a fossil-free future. Then it is time to identify the challenges, according to De Graaff. "For example, chemical conversion of CO₂ will require massive amounts of - renewable - energy. This will affect the business case, especially when compared to current fossil alternatives. We will be looking for the knobs we need to turn in order to get both CAPEX and OPEX below realistic values." This implies improvement of efficiencies (i.e. more product per electron) and cost reduction (e.g. lowering material costs). De Graaff also wants to make the case for integration along the value chain where electrochemistry is integrated with upstream or downstream processes". Here, for example, we will be talking about the integration of capture and conversion, in which we have a VoltaChem flagship program. And a nice example of downstream process integration will be presented by DSM where they plan to combine CO₂ utilization with biotech production."

Finally, high-temperature electrolysis will be discussed. De Graaff sees a surge in industrial plans with respect to high-temperature electrochemical CO₂ conversion. "This makes sense of course for the utilization of CO₂ from high-temperature waste gases, for instance from blast furnaces. It also enables integration with syngas technologies, for instance for the production of sustainable kerosene and methanol. However, we still have to keep our eye on low-temperature electrochemical conversion technologies, for instance for converting biogenic or air captured CO₂. I’m confident that the meeting will convey the importance of establishing an overall view of where best to deploy what technology, and in what timeframe."

More information about our experts can be found here. 

Upcoming events

Power-2-X Tour #3: September 29 | Next-generation water electrolysis: Cost-effective hydrogen production enabled by high-tech innovations
Industrialization of PEM electrolysis in partnership with industry. Better economics, increasing electrochemical efficiency, extending materials life under operational conditions, avoiding scarce resources such as iridium. (Power-2-Hydrogen). More information

Power-2-X Tour #4: November 18 | Upcoming Power-2-X technologies
Exploration and development of future technologies such as Solid Oxide Electrolyzers that operate at high temperatures (Power-2-Hydrogen), and plasma pyrolysis of gases to produce hydrogen and unsaturated hydrocarbons as chemical building blocks (Power-2-Chemicals).

 

Share this page: