- FUNDITEC leads for the first time a project with European funding under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program
- CATCO2NVERS aims to reduce greenhouse gases from BIOLOGIC-BASED industries
Madrid, May 28, 2021 – CATCO2NVERS starts up, a project led by the Spanish technology center FUNDITEC and funded with 6.6 million euros under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, aims to create value-added chemical products from bio-industrial CO2 emissions that integrate catalytic technologies.
This is the first time that the Madrid-based technology center leads a European project of this size. Thus, FUNDITEC will be in charge of coordinating the work of the consortium formed by a total of fifteen entities from eight European countries. Together with FUNDITEC, the project has 5 other Spanish partners: Artificial Nature, CARTIF, CSIC, PERSEO Biotechnology and Sustainable Innovations. All of them will work together for 48 months, contributing to convert the captured CO2 into value-added chemical products.
The main purpose of CATCO2NVERS is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the bio-based industry by developing five innovative and integrated technologies based on three catalytic processes (electrochemical, enzymatic and thermochemical). The objective of the project is to transform waste CO2 from industries into value-added chemical products: glyoxylic acid, lactic acid, furan dicarboxylic methyl ester, cyclic carbonated fatty acid methyl esters and biomethanol, with application in the chemical and cosmetic industries and plastics industries.
CATCO2NVERS will process certain bio-based products replacing fossil material with zero or negative greenhouse gas emissions, which will contribute to establishing sound business models that involve all actors in the value chain and thus reduce environmental impacts and production costs. Through their holistic approach, the project partners will design and develop innovative catalytic technologies for the valorization of CO2 in the manufacture of different bio-based products, including monomers for the production of bioplastics, using CO2 streams from biorefineries.
In addition to coordinating the project, FUNDITEC will be in charge of validating technologies based on thermocatalytic processes and working on the development of an innovative technology to convert CO2 into cyclic carbonates using fatty acid methyl esters as starting material. According to the General Director of the center, Miguel Rego, “The coordination of a project like CATCO2NVERS is a challenge that we take on with great enthusiasm. FUNDITEC has been studying new chemical and photochemical methods for the reduction of greenhouse gases since its creation and we are convinced that the results will be very positive”.
ABOUT FUNDITEC: FUNDITEC, Foundation for Development and Technological Innovation, is established as a private non-profit R&D center whose mission is to offer applied research and technology services in the field of Advanced Materials and Cybersecurity. FUNDITEC is firmly committed and positioned in the value chain of national and European technological development, providing a differential value to the company in the development of sustainable technological innovation to respond to the current needs of society and the economy. Despite being a young center, created in 2018, FUNDITEC is involved in several European projects and is currently responsible for the coordination of the CATCO2NVERS project. The Foundation’s overall objective is to increase the modernization of the Spanish business fabric, directing its action towards innovation, competitiveness and technological development to facilitate its implementation and integration in companies, becoming the reference partner for these lines of research and development.
