Evonik and Siemens are collaborating on electrolysis and fermentation processes in a joint research project called Rheticus. The project was launched today (January 18th 2018) and is due to run for two years with the first test plant scheduled to go onstream by 2021 at the Evonik facility in Marl, Germany.
The two companies are planning to use electricity from renewable sources and bacteria to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into specialty chemicals. The project hopes to see a production capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes a year.
Rheticus will also contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, as it uses CO2 as a raw material.
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“We are developing a platform that will allow us to produce chemical products in a much more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way than we do today,” explained Dr Günter Schmid, Technical Manager of Siemens Corporate Technology.
“Using our platform, operators will in future be able to scale their plants to suit their needs.”
The new technology not only enables chemicals to be produced sustainably, but it also serves as an energy store helping to stabilise the grid and respond to power fluctuations.
Receiving €2.8 million (£2.4 million) in funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Rheticus is linked to the Kopernikus Initiative for the energy transition in Germany which is seeking new solutions to restructure the energy system.
The project will make it simpler to scale plants to the desired size, the chemical industry could be installed anywhere where there is a source of CO2.
Dr Karl Eugen Hutmacher from the BMBF, said: “Rheticus brings together the expertise of Evonik and Siemens.”
Schmid added: “We are confident that other companies will use the platform and integrate it with their own modules to manufacture their chemical products.”