More sober and sustainable, the new French energy model, promoted by the Energy Transition Law for Green Growth, calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels. Added to these issues are the challenges of energy sovereignty and autonomy of supply. All these issues, and more specifically the decarbonization of industry and the circular economy, are at the heart of this unprecedented partnership between industrial and scientific players, experts in the fields ofCO2 recovery and reclamation. Unlike existing technologies, this technology will optimize energy consumption and costs, and can therefore be easily installed on existing industrial sites without disrupting operations.
The partners' pooled skills will be focused on developing a new technology for the electrochemical conversion ofCO2 into formic acid, methanol and methane. At Collège de France, this initiative is led by Prof. Marc Fontecave, Director of the Chemistry of Biological Processes Laboratory.
The first stage of the research will be to demonstrate the feasibility of the process. Depending on the initial results, a compact, modular prototype could initially be installed on theCO2 production sources of wastewater treatment plants, then on waste incineration and methanization plants. It will be used to prepare the scaling-up stages for industrial and commercial exploitation of theCO2 conversion technology.
According to Marc Fontecave, Professor at the Collège de France, "more than ever, the energy and environmental transition requires an alliance between fundamental research, technological research and industrial research. As such, the Collège de France is fully committed to building a new world that is more respectful of the environment and fairer, as demonstrated by its new " Avenir Commun Durable " initiative and the multi-disciplinary research in the experimental, human and social sciences associated with this program. This is also reflected in the efforts of the Collège de France's energy and environment chairs and their industrial partnerships, such as the exemplary one set up with Veolia, SIAAP and CEA."
we are proud to be able to join forces with the world's leading research teams in this field - Collège de France and CEA - and SIAAP, Europe's largest wastewater utility, to develop a new way of recoveringCO2," commented Antoine Frérot, Chairman and CEO of Veolia, who attended the signing ceremony. Technologies related toCO2 treatment, a crucial area for ecological transformation, are one of Veolia's strategic priorities. I'm enthusiastic about the research project we're launching today, which will enable us to move the subject forward and in the future generate industrial solutions capable of providing a response to the challenges of energy sovereignty and decarbonization."
