Key stakeholders and researchers gather for productive discussions on sustainable fuels

Complex modeling of periodic excitation combined with time-resolved product detection is used to describe the complex response function of a catalytic system. We describe this concept of catalytic impedance spectroscopy (CIS) and the underlying general experimental approach and a concrete setup. The feasibility of CIS is experimentally demonstrated along the catalytic CO2 methanation reaction. The measurements confirm the theoretically anticipated rate-determining step of HCO* → CH* on Ni catalysts. Limitations and prospects of CIS to unravel reaction mechanisms are discussed.

Sustainable jet fuel plays a crucial role in reducing aviation’s carbon footprint, offering a promising approach toward net-zero emissions in the aviation sector. This work investigates pathways for producing jet fuels directly from CO2. Given the early stage of many direct CO2 utilization technologies, identifying promising pathways is essential. Our investigation focuses on the three most important routes for jet fuel production, each of which employs a distinct intermediate compound. These routes are the reverse water–gas shift and Fischer–Tropsch (RWGS-FT) route, the methanol route, and the CO2 electrolysis route, which employ syngas, methanol, and ethylene as key intermediates, respectively. By performing comprehensive process simulations and analyzing the resulting energy intensity and thermal and CO2 efficiency of each route, these findings provide quantitative early-stage evaluations and allow us to identify key technical development requirements.

Experts from research and industry discussed the technical and regulatory challenges of implementing sustainable fuels and platform chemicals at the first annual conference of the SWEET consortium reFuel.ch.

A decision has been made on the call for proposals “Sustainable Fuels and Platform Chemicals”: The reFuel.ch consortium led by Empa will receive project funding.

Developing robust supply paths for sustainable fuels and basic chemicals for Switzerland is the aim of the "reFuel.ch" consortium funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), which held its kick-off event on 8 December 2023. The consortium comprises nine Swiss universities, universities and research institutes from various disciplines as well as an industrial partner. As time is pressing for climate-friendly solutions, political decision-makers will also be involved.