March 19, 2024

CATCHY PROJECT

Design, implementation and production upscaling of novel, high-performance, multimetallic cluster-based catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation and electro-reduction

The ever-increasing amounts of CO2 from non-renewable fossil fuels release into the atmosphere is destabilising the climate and maintaining global warming on an alarming trajectory.

Converting the CO2 into valuable products

Capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere, or more practically as it is produced from coal- or gas-burning power plants, and then converting it into useful fuels and chemicals is the most credible route to securing our future until we stop releasing so much CO2 into the atmosphere. The conversion of CO2 into methanol and C2 products (ethanol, ethylene, etc.), convenient chemical intermediates for a host of products, offers us a tremendous opportunity to limit the problems we face. Two routes, thermo- and electro-chemical reactions, are being explored, but both are hindered by the high stability of the CO2 molecule.

CATCHY will create new, high-performance cluster-based catalysts for the conversion of atmospheric CO2 into added-value synthetic materials with a catalysis-by-design approach based on advances in our atomic-scale understanding, analytical and in situ / in operando tools, and computational methods while delivering a training programme that will give 14 early-stage researchers the expertise and skills required by employers in the European nanotechnology sector.

The Catchy Network

Achieving these objectives will involve a multi-level interdisciplinary collaboration between laboratories specialized in different basic-science disciplines (physics, chemistry, and engineering) and between different research fields (thermo-catalysis and electro-catalysis). CATCHY will also initiate an intersectorial collaboration that will reduce the on-going fragmentation of the nanotechnology sector in the EU. The strong inter-technology synergies between the CATCHY participants will build bridges between thermo-catalysis and electro-catalysis applications and accelerate the development of better catalysts for CO2 conversion.