Avantium gets $2M to develop electrochemical processes and CO2-based polymers

In the Netherlands, Avantium N.V was awarded over $2 million (€1.78 million) in total by the EU Horizon 2020 program for its participation in the CATCO2NVERS, CO2SMOS and VIVALDI consortia, to be paid out by the EU in 4 tranches over a period of four years. All three consortium programmes aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industry by developing innovative and integrated technologies based on electrochemical, enzymatic, and thermochemical processes. Avantium’s Volta Technology, a carbon capture and utilisation technology, fits well with this ambition.

Avantium’s Volta Technology is a cutting-edge electrocatalytic platform that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical building blocks and high-value products. These include (cosmetic) ingredients, such as formic acid, glyoxylic acid, and glycolic acid, and fuels. In close collaboration with the Industrial Sustainable Chemistry research team at the University of Amsterdam, Avantium is also working on developing CO2-based polymers, materials that are traditionally made from fossil resources. With its Volta Technology, Avantium not only unlocks CO2 as a new carbon source for the chemical industry, but also uses CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, allowing industry to reduce CO2 emissions. Avantium is currently working on scaling up the Volta Technology in pre-pilot units that will be demonstrated at industrial sites in 2021.

The participation in the three research consortia CATCO2NVERS, CO2SMOS and VIVALDI allows Avantium to further improve the overall efficiency of its electrochemical processes and strengthen the leading position of Volta Technology in the field of electrochemical CO2 conversion. In addition to Avantium, the CATCO2NVERS, CO2SMOS and VIVALDI consortia consist of leading academic and industrial organisations across Europe. Within these three programmes, Avantium will work on improving the downstream process steps for the production of formic acid from CO2, converting formic acid and oxalic acid to high value products, such as glyoxylic acid and CO2-based monomers, and developing electrode materials.