Research in many cases requires large infrastructures, which often use significant amounts of energy. In particular, research at some of the large-scale facilities, such as particle accelerators, which are either hosted or used at European Level are very energy intensive. Power usage may reach 100 MW or more, with energy consumptions comparable to small towns. To make progress in science, these large-scale infrastructures are essential despite their energy consumption requirements. At the same time, our society is faced with the enormous challenge to transition into a carbon-neutral economy, and to minimize our footprint in terms of energy usage from non-renewable sources, and our output of substances which burden the environment. For this reason, research infrastructures need to develop and use energy efficient technologies. The way we operate our infrastructures needs to be re-evaluated. Intelligent solutions which reduce energy consumption need to be developed. Through intelligent algorithms the energy usage of our infrastructures needs to be adjusted to the available resources, such as renewable energy, and should help in providing an overall stable energy supply to society. The RF2.0 consortium vision is to design and operate accelerators in the way that they can run safe and stable anytime on 100% renewable energy supply, i.e., almost independently from the public power grid. To achieve this vision, comprehThis project’s originality lies in the comprehensive analysis of large research infrastructures’ energy management problem, from component to system level, both at experimental physics and energy engineering level, and in developing and testing in realistic environments of possible corrective actions. The RF2.0 project will involve 6 world renowned research infrastructures for the acceleration of particles, of which 5 of European Interest, an energy technology lab, and 4 SMEs focused on the (co-)development and technology transfer of new energy solutions.

I propose innovative strategies to elucidate and engineer the electrocatalytic mechanism of earth-abundant transition metal oxides with the aim of enhancing the low efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Mastering multi-electron reactions such as the OER is critical for the transition from dwindling fossil fuels to ecologically and economically sustainable fuels based on renewable energy. Water is the most abundant source of hydrogen bonds on earth and fuels based on these bonds have the highest energy densities, which makes water an attractive resource for sustainable fuels production. However, the production of any hydrogen-based fuel from water is currently thwarted by the low efficiency of the OER. Improved catalysts are presently designed by optimizing a single step in the reaction sequence. In contrast, I target the low efficiency of the OER by engineering multiple steps of the mechanism to (i) control the number of electron transfers before the limiting step; and (ii) enforce a reaction path close to the thermodynamic limit. Combining these two strategies increases the catalytic current of transition metal oxides at typical overpotentials by a factor of 100,000. Rational design of the mechanism on this fundamental level calls for unprecedented insight into the active state of electrocatalysts. My team will achieve this firstly by novel approaches to prepare catalytically limiting states for their elucidation by synchrotron-based X-ray spectroscopy and secondly by studying transitions between these states in pioneering time-resolved experiments. Both the required breakthroughs in method development and the innovative scientific strategies are generalizable to other multi-electron reactions, which opens the door for industrial catalysts that store energy sustainably in hydrogen-based fuels on a global scale.

The aim of this project is to develop and model an integrated modular system based on continuous-flow heterogeneous photo(electro)catalytic reactors to produce relevant chemicals such as ethylene in the chemical sector, precursor to "green plastics" and many other high-value chemicals using abundant resources such as water, carbon dioxide and light. We aim at delivering cost-efficient small-scale systems for intermittent operation to respond to the needs of rural, isolated territories, and distributed manufacturing. Novel multifunctional photo(electro)catalytic materials integrated into practical and scalable reactors are required in Europe to maintain the technological leadership in chemical manufacturing, while ensuring the deployment of sustainable processes which meet circular economy and green industry for a low-carbon future. FlowPhotoChem will use the expertise of the partners to design, model, construct and validate an integrated modular system with improved energy efficiency and negative CO2 emissions, since concentrated CO2 will be valorised to high-value chemicals. The integrated system will be studied from a life cycle analysis perspective to quantify such effects, and to include a techno-economic study to quantify the cost of the technology and compare with comparable renewable solutions for the production of the same/similar chemicals.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) H2 generation, using water as proton and electron source, is considered the most impactful solar-driven processes to tackle the energy, environment, and climate crisis, providing a circular economy strategy to supply green energy vectors (H2) with zero carbon footprint. Aligning with this view, OHPERA will develop a proof-of-concept unbiased tandem PEC cell to simultaneously achieve efficient solar-driven H2 production at the cathode and high added-value chemicals from valorization of industrial waste (glycerol) at the anode, being sunlight the only energy input. Thus, OPHERA will demonstrate the viability of producing chemicals with economic benefits starting from industrial waste, using a renewable source of energy. For this purpose, OPHERA will integrate highly efficient and stable photoelectrodes based on halide lead-free perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and tailored catalytic/passivation layers, avoiding the use of critical raw materials (CRM), in a proof-of-concept eco-design PEC device. Theoretical modelling both at an atomistic and device scales will assist the materials development and mechanistic understanding of the processes, and all materials and components will be integrated in a proof-of-concept device, targeting standalone operation at 10 mA·cm-2 for 100 hours, 90% Faradaic efficiency to H2, and including a clearly defined roadmap for upscaling and exploitation. Therefore, OPHERA will offer a dual process to produce green H2 concomitant to the treatment of industrial waste generating added-value chemicals with high economic and industrial interest, thus offering a competitive LCOH.