An EIC project for CO2 capture and its conversion into renewable fuels

24/11/2023

The project "Double-Active Membranes for a sustainable CO₂ cycle" (DAM4CO₂₎ aims to investigate possible ways to convert the carbon dioxide emitted by industries into renewable fuels: it is one of the eight projects, among hundreds proposals submitted, funded by the European Innovation Council in the framework of the call “EIC Pathfinder Challenge: Carbon dioxide and nitrogen management and valorisation” and it is coordinated by the National Research Council of Italy. 

DAM4CO₂ has a wide and interdisciplinary consortium, which is composed of the Cnr Institute on membrane technology (Cnr-Itm, Rende, IT), the Institute of chemistry of organometallic compounds (Cnr-Iccom, Pisa, IT), the National Interuniversity Consortium for the Science and Technology of Materials (Instm, with the locations of the University of Turin, the University of Pisa and the University of Perugia, IT), the Polytechnic University of Valencia (ES), the Swansea University (UK), the University of Edinburgh (UK) and two European companies: Primalchit Solutions (ES) and Me-Sep Sp. z o.o. (PL).

Dr Alessio Fuoco, researcher at Cnr-Itm and project coordinator, says: “In general, membranes are more energetically efficient than traditional technologies, and they also have a smaller footprint. In DAM4CO₂, we will produce membranes without using critical raw materials, and with a double functionality: they will first capture the carbon dioxide and then convert it into renewable fuels by photocatalysis.”

The project, funded with almost 4 million euros, aims to develop a radically new membrane technology for simultaneous CO₂ capture and conversion in renewable fuels of no biological origin. The latter is fundamental to promoting the ecological transition in the long-range transport sector, such as the aviation sector. DAM4CO₂’s ambition is to overcome the current technologies by developing double-active membrane systems to merge the capture and conversion processes in one single device. This will allow the development of a more efficient energy and soil consumption device, which can be used to retrofit the current separation setups and can be installed where the current technology is not economically feasible.

Follow the DAM4CO₂ updates on the project website www.dam4co2.eu, and social media.

Per informazioni:
Alessio Fuoco
Cnr-Itm
alessio.fuoco@cnr.it