The department’s Christian Doppler laboratory for Sustainable SynGas Chemistry was officially opened on 25 April.
Headed up by Erwin Reisner, the state-of-the-art lab is focused on research into using sunlight to power the sustainable conversion of carbon dioxide and water into syngas. This high-energy gas mixture contains hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and can be used to create liquid hydrocarbon fuels. It is also an important feedstock in the petrochemical industry.
The lab is being funded jointly by the Austrian Christian Doppler Research Association, Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth, the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development, and OMV Group, the Austrian-headquartered international oil and gas company, for the next seven years.
‘The new laboratory aims to develop the basic principles to allow for a renewable production of syngas,’ Reisner says. ‘Our long-term vision is a transition from a fossil-based to a sustainable carbon-based economy.’
The main focus of the lab will be the development of molecular catalysts, which will then be integrated into nano-structured materials for syngas generation. Ultimately, the aim is that this will enable small-scale devices that make solar syngas to be assembled.
For more information see: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-lab-to-focus-on-creating-sustainable-energy-source