Work Package 2: Towards innovative CO2 transformation strategies combining high performance and low environmental impact

One strategy will be to develop innovant electro- or/and photo-catalytic systems to activate CO₂ and transform it into selective products of interest based on a bio-inspired approach, i.e., on synthetic models, metalloenzymes, or hybrid assemblies. In all these systems, CO₂ is activated and transformed at a metallic center composed of non-noble and non-toxic metals, and their performance in terms of efficiency, selectivity, and robustness will be assessed under homogeneous or/and heterogeneous catalytic conditions and mild temperature and pressure (inputs to task 2.3). To go beyond the production of C1 products, cascade chemical processes will also be implemented.

Optimization of the performance. To enhance the efficiency, selectivity, and stability of the catalytic systems, the full understanding of the catalytic mechanism and degradation process(es) will be investigated to design their next generation (inputs to Task 2.1) rationally. To do this, we will use several complementary approaches: (i) in operando investigation based on different spectroscopic or spectrometric techniques, (ii) trapping and characterization of short-life species to identify intermediate species, and (iii) quantum chemistry based on different methodologies including dynamic ones, to predict full mechanisms.

To perform a thorough analysis of the environmental impacts of new technological approaches, the standardized LCA methodology is the most advanced tool since it is based on a global and multi-criteria evaluation. However, to have a concrete impact, LCA must be carried out as early as possible to have a real impact on development decisions and lead to a system that best meets regulations and political and social expectations. In this work package, we will target our latest breakthroughs in CCU technologies  to provide data for LCA, so that the developed processes can be upscaled, assessed, and optimized (inputs to work package 1 and task 2.1) based on this analysis and industrial engineering methods.