Category: News

In een interview in De Tijd geven o.a. catalyst Luc Van Ginneken en Total’s Walter Vermeiren hun kijk op de elektrificatie van chemische processen en krakers, en dat bijvoorbeeld via het Moonshot-project P2O. Lees het volledige artikel op de website van De Tijd, of klik op de afbeelding hieronder.

Als Moonshot-accountmanager bij VLAIO sta je in voor de sturing en opvolging van het Moonshot-initiatief. Je legt relaties, zoekt verbanden en start innovatieve samenwerkingen tussen bedrijven, universiteiten en kennisinstellingen op. Je bent daarbij de brug tussen bedrijven en kennisinstellingen. Je vormt het eerste aanspreekpunt voor VLAIO en externe actoren. Ook ben je nauw betrokken bij concrete onderzoeks- en innovatieprojecten binnen Moonshot, zowel bij het tot stand komen van de projecten als bij hun evaluatie.

Klaar om de klimaattransitie van de Vlaamse industrie te ondersteunen? Check dan zeker de VLAIO-website voor meer informatie over de jobinhoud, de vele voordelen die VLAIO biedt, en de sollicitatieprocedure. Solliciteren kan tot en met 16 mei 2021. Het Moonshot-team kijkt er alvast naar uit om samen met jou aan de slag te gaan!

To make sure Moonshot research at universities and knowledge institutes will lead to an actual reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions, Moonshot actively involves companies in its operations through, amongst others, industrial Advisory Boards. During these meetings, the academic consortia behind Moonshot projects present the status of their research to interested companies and share relevant results obtained thus far. Meanwhile, participating companies have the opportunity to follow up on Moonshot projects from a front-row seat, guide the research by providing industrial input, discover innovative technologies in an early stage, and identify opportunities for the future.

Between 11 March and 2 April, one Advisory Board meeting was set up for each of the four Moonshot research trajectories (MOTs). All companies that signed a Moonshot Letter of Intent (LOI) were invited to participate. In this first series of meetings, preliminary research results from the Moonshot projects from budget year 2019 were discussed. These innovative projects took off in early 2020 and have now been running for little over a year.

Across the four MOTs, no less than 71 different companies participated in the Advisory Boards. Most of these companies are situated within the broad chemical sector, with additional participants from the other sectors targeted by Moonshot, being petrochemistry, steel and energy. Moreover, companies from other sectors, VLAIO and a number of Flemish spearhead clusters also joined the discussions.

In a spirit of open interaction, companies formulated substantive questions and remarks concerning the presented research results. They were able to actively gauge to what extent the presented projects results could be integrated within their current or future operations. The academic consortia, meanwhile, grasped the opportunity to thoroughly assess the industrial relevance of their research and identify areas of improvement, or even opportunities for potential follow-up projects within Moonshot or beyond.

Following the first Advisory Boards, in-depth bilateral meetings between companies and consortia that wish to engage more intensively will be facilitated by Moonshot. In the fall of this year, a second series of Advisory Board meetings will be organised. During these meetings, the 2019 projects will present their final findings. The 2020 projects, which started their work in March 2021, will also present some preliminary results. Interested companies who have not yet signed a Moonshot LOI, but wish to participate in this second series of meetings, can contact moonshot@catalisti.be for more information.

Moonshot research is pursued at Flemish universities and knowledge institutes, who are responsible for the scientific development of the disruptive and innovative Moonshot technologies. In a later phase, however, these technologies will have to be deployed on an industrial scale and be implemented by companies. To make sure its research will lead to an actual reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions, Moonshot actively involves companies in its operations through, amongst others, industrial Advisory Board meetings.

During these meetings, the universities and knowledge institutes will present the status of their research and share the interesting results obtained thus far. Meanwhile, participating companies have an opportunity to follow up on Moonshot projects from a front-row seat, guide the research by providing industrial input, discover and valorise innovative technologies in an early stage, and identify opportunities for the future.

One virtual Advisory Board meeting will be organised for each of the four Moonshot Research Trajectories (MOTs). Click the links below to see the detailed agenda of each meeting.

MOT1 Biobased Chemistry AB
2 April (10h00-12h30)

MOT2 Circularity of Carbon in Materials AB
11 March (14h00-16h30)

MOT3 Electrification & Radical Process Transformation AB
19 March (13h00-16h00)

MOT4 Energy Innovation AB
24 March (14h00-16h30)

Please note that in this first series of meetings, only cSBO projects approved in 2019 will be discussed in detail. Projects approved in 2020 will only start as of 1 March 2021 and will therefore be included in a second series of meetings in the fall of this year.

Is your company interested in participating in one or more of the Advisory Board meetings? Please contact Merten De Kinderen (mdekinderen@catalisti.be) for more information on the registration procedure.

All new projects, which were approved by VLAIO in late 2020, once again fit into the four overarching Moonshot Research Trajectories (MOTs) on biobased chemistry, circulairty of carbon in materials, electrification & radical process transformation, and finally energy innovation. The spectrum of research topics covered by the new projects is broad, and ranges from the production of green butadiene, over the upcycling of multilayered packaging materials, to CO₂ conversion technologies and the development of high-temperature heat pumps.

Check the full overview of Moonshot projects to learn more about the new series of projects approved in late 2020.

The strategic basic research within Moonshot is pursued at Flemish universities and knowledge institutes, who are responsible for the scientific development of the disruptive and innovative Moonshot technologies. In a later phase, however, these technologies will have to be deployed on an industrial scale and be implemented by companies. To make sure its research will lead to an actual reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions, Moonshot actively involves companies, and in particular the chemical, petrochemical and steel sectors, in its operations through, amongst others, industrial Advisory Boards.

Starting as of 1 March 2021, the projects have a duration of 18 up to 48 months. They are funded by the Flemish government, totalling 19 million euro in future-oriented subsidies. Until 2040, the Flemish government will provide up to 20 million euro in funding for Moonshot each year.

In 2020, Moonshot launched a first series of 12 research projects, aiming to make Flemish industries more sustainable by 2050. Concrete results have already emerged from these projects in recent weeks. Researchers at KU Leuven and UAntwerpen have, for example, discovered an innovative and CO₂-free production method for ammonia as part of the P2C project.

A second series of 13 Moonshot projects has now also been approved by VLAIO, worth 19 million euros in subsidies. These approved projects will start from 1 March 2021 onwards and have a duration of 18 to 48 months. These are all cSBO projects that focus on strategic basic research at Flemish universities and knowledge institutions, where disruptive innovative ideas will be scientifically developed and then, in a later phase, deployed on an industrial scale. To this end, Moonshot actively involves industries, and in particular the chemical, petrochemical and steel sectors, in its operations.

The new projects all fit into the four research trajectories (MOTs), which represent the most promising transition paths towards the 2050 ambition: a Flemish industry that is carbon circular and low in CO₂.

New Moonshot projects will come out of the pipeline every year. The Flemish government will provide 20 million euro in financial support for this purpose, each year until 2040. Between 2020 and 2040, this will amount to no less than 400 million euro in future-oriented subsidies.

The industrial climate objectives of the Flemish government are ambitious: a Flemish industry that is carbon circular and low in CO₂ by 2050. To make this ambition concrete, Flemish minister for Economy and Innovation Hilde Crevits and VLAIO commissioned an expert consortium led by Deloitte to map potential transition paths for the Flemish industry based on a roadmap study/context analysis. In addition to Deloitte, VUB-IES, AMS and Climact also participated in the study, with support from the Wuppertal Institute.

Over the past year, the expert consortium researched possible trajectories of the industrial transition, with a focus on promising technologies. This way, the path towards 2050 is being mapped in concrete terms.

The study, however, does not provide ready-made solutions, but emphasizes that industrial efforts are mainly needed in the following areas:

• use of biomass as a feedstock or as an energy source
• circular use of plastics through mechanical and chemical recycling
• transformations of processes via electrification and the direct use of H2
• capture and (re)use of emitted CO₂ (CCS/CCU)

Depending on a number of breakthroughs and conditions, a CO₂ reduction of 80 to 90% could be possible by 2050. In this context, particular attention is paid to the chemical, petrochemical and steel sectors. Together, these sectors account for 90% of Flemish industrial CO₂ emissions that fall under the EU ETS system for emissions trading.

The study’s conclusions clearly underline the importance of the Moonshot initiative. The study confirms the research trajectories as outlined by Catalisti at the start of Moonshot, yet also identifies some points for improvement.

In recent years, the energy-intensive Flemish sectors have already significantly reduced their CO₂ emissions. Between 2005 and 2019, emissions in these sectors decreased by 11%. In the chemical sector by almost 27%! This effort will have to be intensified in the coming years. In addition to existing technologies, there is a need for thorough and disruptive innovation in new CO₂-reducing technologies.

The production of ammonia, an essential chemical building block that is used in synthetic fertilisers, among other things, is one of the main sources of CO₂ emissions. In the context of the Moonshot project P2C, researchers from KU Leuven and the University of Antwerp have now discovered an alternative, innovative and CO₂-free production method.

The production of ammonia is associated with substantial CO₂ emissions. In the chemical industry in Flanders, ammonia synthesis accounts for 15% of emissions. Ammonia production is mainly based on the Haber-Bosch process, employing a mixture of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas, which is then converted into ammonia by means of high temperature and pressure. The use of natural gas, as a source for hydrogen gas, leads to CO₂ emissions. Researchers have now developed an alternative method based on plasma technology.

“By combining plasma technology with concepts from the automotive industry, we can produce ammonia in a sustainable way. And the great thing is that the necessary raw materials, air and water, are available always and everywhere. In addition, for the production of the plasma, you can use renewable electricity from solar or wind energy.” – Johan Martens, KU Leuven.

You can read the full article about this innovative breaktrought via
https://nieuws.kuleuven.be/en/content/2020/researchers-achieve-breakthrough-in-production-of-ammonia-without-co2-emissions

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The P2C project is a collaboration between KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp, Ghent University and VITO.

“Dankzij doorgedreven innovatie kon de chemie- en plasticssector haar CO2-uitstoot de afgelopen decennia al sterk terugbrengen. Moonshot geeft deze innovatiedrive een extra duwtje in de rug.”

In de meest recente editie van FOKUS Research & Development wordt het Moonshot-initiatief kort voorgesteld. Lees het artikel op https://issuu.com/smartmediabelgium/docs/fokusr_d_sep2020, of klik op de afbeelding hieronder.

Last June, 18 Moonshot project proposals were submitted to VLAIO. Nearly 100 companies expressed broad industrial interest in these proposals by signing a Letter of Intent.

On 15 June 2020, a new series of 18 Moonshot project proposals was submitted to VLAIO (Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship). In total, these proposals represent a requested budget of more than 27,5 million euro. In the coming months, all project proposals will pass through a multi-step evaluation procedure to gauge whether or not they are fit for execution. This procedure includes a peer review by a panel of independent, international academic experts, an exhaustive evaluation by the Moonshot Scientific Advisory Board, and a final decision by the Moonshot Governance Board. The definitive list of approved projects will then be finalized in November 2020.

Highlighting broad industrial interest in Moonshot, nearly 100 companies, from big multinationals to local start-ups, signed Letters of Intent (LOI) to express their support for the project proposals. These LOIs allow participating companies to follow up on Moonshot projects from a front-row seat, to guide Moonshot research by providing industrial input, to discover innovative technologies in an early stage, and to identify opportunities for the future. Interested in joining your peers around the Moonshot table? Simply contact moonshot@catalisti.be to receive more information about the Moonshot LOI.