PEPR project
Driving the conversion of CO2 into e-fuels, solar fuels and chemical synthons via renewable energies beyond the state of the art.
Dates:
April 2022 – March 2027
Project coordinator:
Institut de recherches sur la catalyse et l’environnement (Ircelyon)
Partner laboratories:
11 academic laboratories
IMN personnel involved:
Stéphane JOBIC
While the use of carbon sources – oil, gas and coal – has enabled the rapid development of today’s society, it has also underpinned a linear carbon economy in which human activities result from carbon extracted from the subsoil and accumulated in the atmosphere. Moving towards climate neutrality means developing a circular carbon economy for those economic sectors in which carbon will always be a determining factor, such as long-distance transport (carbon-based liquid fuels) and the chemical industry. Synthetic fuels, for example (e-fuels derived from electricity and solar fuels derived from sunlight) offer a promising alternative to fossil fuels, since they have the highest energy density of all storage devices, can be stored for long periods, and can take advantage of current infrastructures for storage, distribution and use. While current CO₂ conversion technologies recycle less than 1% of human-related emissions, the latest European legislation has paved the way for the introduction of e-fuels for aviation fuels, starting in 2030. The underlying scientific questions and technological challenges are to enable the efficient conversion of CO₂, a kinetically and thermodynamically stable molecule, for high-value goods using low-carbon energy sources such as sunlight and electricity.
