Tuesday, 26 September 2023
Researchers in the university’s Faculty of Engineering have a crucial role to play in a carbon capture project that’s just received a six-figure funding boost.
Project MONET (MOF-based Negative Emissions Technology) has been awarded £445,848 by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as part of its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) CCUS Innovation 2.0 competition, which aims to accelerate the development of next generation carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in the UK – with the aim that it can be deployed at scale by 2030.
Over the next 18 months, a prototype carbon capture unit will be designed and installed at Drax’s CCUS Incubation Site in Selby, North Yorkshire. The capture unit will utilise metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the novel solid sorbent - a class of materials that can be used to selectively adsorb certain gases. The installed unit will demonstrate the effective separation of CO2 from industrial flue gas streams, enabling more energy efficient CO2 capture.
Nottingham’s researchers will conduct lifecycle assessments and technoeconomic analysis on data collected from test trials, which will be undertaken by University of Nottingham spin-out Promethean Particles. This data will be compared to alternative sorbent technologies, where corresponding data is publicly available, to validate the innovation of novel solid sorbents, allowing a strong business case to be built for the commercialisation of these new technologies.
This is an incredibly exciting time for the university to be involved with a project like MONET. Not only does it expand our CCUS expertise and project portfolio, but the demonstration of such a prototype unit, which utilises MOFs as the novel sorbent materials, is expected to significantly de-risk the innovation and, in turn, pave the way for adoption in a range of point source carbon-emitting processes and industries.
James Stephenson, Chief Executive Officer of Promethean, said: “We are extremely proud that project MONET has been chosen by the Department as one of the winners of this competition. Carbon removal is now a necessity in mitigating the devastating effects of climate change. Our continuous manufacturing process uniquely enables the production of these exciting materials at the scale and cost necessary to make them a viable industrial solution.”
Story credits
More information is available from Dr Orla Williams, in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham at orla.williams@nottingham.ac.uk or; Danielle Hall, Media Relations Manager for the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, at danielle.hall@nottingham.ac.uk.
About the Faculty of Engineering:
Made up of six departments – Architecture and Built Environment, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering and Foundation Engineering and Physical Sciences – the university’s Faculty of Engineering is home to more than 5,600 students and 800 staff.
The faculty, which has educated engineers and architects for more than 140 years, was the first in the country to be accredited with an Athena SWAN Gold Award for excellence in advancing gender equality across higher education and research and is home to multiple state-of-the-art facilities, including the recently opened £40m Power Electronics and Machines Centre (PEMC).
With research at its heart, 20 research groups are undertaking pioneering projects for a sustainable future across several themes – including net zero transport, sustainable energies and the built environment, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare technologies – and has delivered a positive impact in more than 20 countries. The faculty’s research has benefitted 500 companies and three governments and has also directly created jobs for around 3,000 people across the world.
About Promethean Particles
Promethean Particles is a UK-based, global pioneer, leading the industrial-scale manufacture of metalorganic frameworks (MOFs) and other specialty nanomaterials. The Company is primarily focused on developing the use of MOFs in the fight against climate change, particularly for carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) applications. When compared to existing technologies, MOF-based carbon capture has the potential to deliver significant advantages; increased energy-efficiency, lower process complexity, smaller operating footprint, and an improved EHS profile. Other applications for the Company’s materials include water harvesting, gas separation and storage, green hydrogen catalysis, and high-efficiency thermal fluid additives.
Promethean has developed a range of patented continuous-flow reactors, which dramatically improve throughput and cost whilst increasing process reliability and consistency. The company operates a 1,000 tonnes per year reactor at its site in Nottingham, UK – the world’s largest continuous multi-nanomaterial manufacturing plant.
Promethean is collaborating with several different organisations to test MOFs in real-world environments and measure carbon capture effectiveness. Results from completed studies have been exciting, demonstrating that MOFs can significantly increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of CCS and leading to further projects. Larger-scale MOF-based CCS demonstration units are now planned on the path to full-scale implementation.
About Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will provide dedicated leadership focused on delivering security of energy supply, ensuring properly functioning markets, greater energy efficiency and seizing the opportunities of net zero to lead the world in new green industries.
The funding from the CCUS Innovation 2.0 programme comes from the department’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) which provides funding for low-carbon technologies and systems and aims to decrease the costs of decarbonisation helping enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
More news…