The PHOTORED project, aimed at developing catalytic enablers to transform CO2 into green fuels, held its sixth meeting at the Universitat Politècnica de València. Participants included Emilio Palomares, Eugenia Martinez, Anna Batet, and Nuria Planella from ICIQ; Hermenegildo Garcia, Josep Albero, and Esther Dominguez from HG-energy from the Instituto de Tecnología Química (UPV-CSIC); Daniel Mesas and Maria Jose Torres from the Centro Tecnológico Industrial de Castilla-La Mancha (ITECAM).
The main objective of the PHOTORED project is to develop catalytic enablers to transform CO2 into green fuels, helping to reduce the impact of climate change and thereby decreasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, in line with the goals stipulated in the Paris Agreement. The project, “Photocatalytic Reductions of CO2 with Green Hydrogen (PHOTORED),” is funded by the European recovery plan NextGenerationEU and is part of the National R&D Program Oriented to Societal Challenges.
PHOTORED promotes the principles of the circular economy by viewing gas emissions as a resource and wastewater as a means for generating green hydrogen. The research focuses on the potential of new technologies such as solar energy to generate fuels and utilize chemicals derived from CO2 contained in biogas produced at anaerobic digestion-equipped treatment plants.
During the meeting, the following topics were presented and discussed:
- Green Deal Target Molecules by Eugenia Martinez (ICIQ)
- Synthesis/Characterization of Photocatalysts for CO2 Hydrogenation by Josep Albero from HG-energy (ITQ)
- Analysis/Evaluation of Developed Photocatalysts by Josep Albero from HG-energy (ITQ)
- Pilot Plant – Portable Photocatalytic Prototype by Maria Jose Torres (ITECAM)
- Work Plan (M30 – M36) by Anna Batet (ICIQ)
- Management Aspects by Anna Batet (ICIQ)
- Financial/Scientific Reporting by Anna Batet (ICIQ)
Significant progress was made in the synthesis of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for CO2 capture and the preparation of membranes to retain the selected MOFs. Additionally, advancements in the reactor design for the pilot plant’s photocatalytic CO2 hydrogenation were presented, along with discussions on water purification systems to obtain green hydrogen from wastewater.
The meeting was highly productive, marking substantial progress. We would like to thank all participants for their contributions and encourage continued hard work.
