THUNDER aims to develop an innovative, modular solution for e-MeOH production, addressing high costs, energy demand, and inefficiencies of benchmark. Using a one-pot tandem approach, the solution combines three reactions: (1) CO2 and H2O vapor capture, (2) co-electrolysis to produce CO and green H2, and (3) CO2/CO hydrogenation to synthesize e-MeOH. THUNDER will enhance efficiency with multifunctional membranes for CO2 capture, advanced electrocatalysts for CO and H2 production, and thermochemical catalysts for hydrogenating CO2 and CO into e-MeOH. Using renewable energy and recovering surplus heat, THUNDER will reduce energy consumption compared to benchmark. THUNDER modular design reduces infrastructure costs, optimizes material use, and minimizes reliance on critical raw materials. THUNDER’s impact on process efficiency, cost, sustainability, and renewable energy will be evaluated along the project. 5. It’s expected to be a reduction in green house emission of 75%, 50-60% in CAPEX and 8-16% in OPEX. Additionally, by recycling CO2/H2O vapor and residual heat from fuel cells, THUNDER facilitates e-MeOH production for fuel cell energy generation, effectively closing the carbon loop and optimizing overall resource and energy efficiency. Key outputs include: (i) advanced materials such as catalysts, membranes, and 3D-printed reactors from recycled titanium, (ii) process intensification, integrating all steps into a unified system, (iii) technology optimization from TRL3 to TRL4 through testing with real and simulated flue gases, and (iv) validation of e-MeOH in fuel cells for mobility and electricity applications. In summary, THUNDER will play a pivotal role in the transition to a sustainable economy, fostering modular, efficient and cost-competitive production of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels production from renewable energies.

Methanol is a crucial commodity in the chemical sector and a potential building block of the future sustainable chemical industry. To date, the majority of methanol is produced from fossil fuels (either natural gas or coal) with associated CO2 emissions of 0.3 Gt/year (about 10% of total chemical sector emissions). Biomass is a sustainable alternative to conventional hydrocarbon feedstocks. However, due to its high carbon and oxygen content, conventional second-generation biomass-to-methanol processes achieve 40-45% of carbon efficiency and result in venting most of the carbon back to the atmosphere as CO2. BeBOP is a 4-year project that aims to develop a novel versatile, disruptive, and multi-product biomass and power to methanol plant, that can transform the methanol industry. Thanks to the integration of an electrolysis cell within the syngas conditioning line, the BeBOP concept can double the methanol productivity ans achieve >95% of total carbon efficiency and recover high value components from biomass gasification residues. The BeBOP project will showcase a first-of-a-kind TRL6 pilot plant ready to be scaled-up and replicated by the European biomass-based industry. BeBOP will enhance market opportunities in the short to medium term bringing the methanol production costs below 250 €/t (with long-term low-cost renewable electricity and including 150 €/tCO2 carbon credits) and shifting the 10% of the production from fossil-based to BeBOP configuration allowing to avoid the emission of more than 30 Mt of CO2 per year (3% of CO2 emissions in chemical industry). Preserving the quality of the end product at competitive costs, decreasing the GHG emissions, decreasing the costs of methanol production and creating new direct and indirect jobs, BeBOP will have a decisive impact in increasing the circularity of the European chemical sector.

The POSEIDON project aims to facilitate the use of e-methanol as e-fuel in shipping by demonstrating innovative solutions along the value chain steps: 1. two complementary CO2 valorisation routes – biogenic CO2 from a biogas plant and industrial plant from a lime plant will be investigated, 2. A new hybrid TRL7 power-to-e-methanol technology will be built and demonstrated within a test platform allowing to re-create real case studies conditions, 3. The produced e-fuel will be tested in 2- and 4-stroke engines at testing facilities and in a pilot boat in open sea to confirm its applicability. The project will also pave the way for the future implementation of e-methanol value chains in the port areas of Valencia and Thessaloniki. Communities of practice gathering project partners and external local stakeholders interested in the e-fuel transition will be created. These communities will strengthen collaboration, raise awareness of the potentials and benefits of renewable e-fuels, help members share their vision and discuss requirements and challenges. This will be supported by detailed case study assessment: extensive tests will be performed in a Power-to-X test platform and simulations enabling to evaluate environmental, economic and social mid-term to long-term impacts will be carried out. Market studies and business modelling activities will be done to have a clear view of the deployment potential at EU level. To foster market uptake, an EU deployment roadmap and a replication tool allowing external stakeholders to conduct their own pre-feasibility assessment will be developed. A public project guidebook outlining the main key exploitable results and policy recommendations will be published. To achieve all these results, the project will build upon the wide expertise of its 19 partners. The consortium consists of a well-balanced team of industrial partners (8), research partners (5), business support organisations (2), ports (2), an association and a public agency.

ILIMITED proposal targets the first-ever ionic liquid sorbent methanol synthesis enabling over 80% yield production thanks to a high selective encapsulation technology for creating an unique long-term energy storage integrated process due to the decentralized conversion of CO2 sources through an accurate 3D-printing reactor technology. ILIMITED proposes a breakthrough integrated system that encompass several key technological advances (KTAs): KTA1| High selective thermo-catalytic methanol synthesis reaction system through in-situ product removal by ionic liquid able to increase current SoA maximum yield (60%) to over 80%, KTA2| Catalyst encapsulation for the fouling and poison prevention of the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst will allow the gas to diffuse over the catalyst while avoiding direct contact with ionic liquid, leading to a efficient and stable operation of methanol synthesis and KTA3| a 3D-printed fluid guiding reactor able rise up to 5-15% the total conversion in the reactor, circumventing the thermodynamic limitations thanks to the maximization of the fluid contact through the above the SoA micro-channels ad-hoc designed for the reactor. Based on advantages, the technology has an upper hand against the conventional methods also in utilizing local small scale CO2 sources, avoiding high heat exchange duty and allowing operation at lower pressures. ILIMITED targets the use of this technology in WWTP as possible future biorefineries, enabling long-term energy storage and fuel production while providing a source of methanol for use in denitrification. By utilizing carbon dioxide from biogas, the potential for energy storage is enormous as the anaerobic digestion (AD) sector grows. With 21 million tons of CO2 per year from AD sources available by 2030, the readily available energy from produced e-methanol is estimated to be over 65 TWh, which is a large contribution to a stable energy supply compared to the average monthly electricity consumption (220 TWh).