Towards carbon-neutral industry

Towards carbon-neutral industry

The Netherlands is almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels and raw materials. The following 4 solutions will ensure climate-neutral energy consumption, so that CO2 emissions will be eliminated by 2050:

1. making heat management sustainable
2. carbon capture, reuse, and storage
3. electrification of production processes (sustainable electricity replaces fossil fuels)
4. efficiency and circularity

Fluids for carbon capture

Another promising technology is based on liquids. At waste processing plants, we use our unique mobile capture system to analyse flue gases that are released. These measurements can be used to design and build installations for large-scale carbon capture. This technology is currently at the final step before market introduction.

Extracting CO2 from the air

We’re also working on evaluating and developing technologies to extract CO2 directly from the air. This is called negative emission. This should lead to a reduction in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, from 400 CO2 parts per million to the pre-industrial level of 300 per million.

Electrification of production processes

Converting wind energy to hydrogen

Offshore wind farms are an important source of renewable energy. But when electricity is generated offshore, it has to be integrated into the existing energy system on land. The energy also needs to be stored, because energy supply and demand are constantly changing. Converting electricity from offshore wind into hydrogen makes it possible to transport and store energy in the form of electricity and molecules.

Cheaper and very suitable for use

Converting the energy offshore makes transport to land cheaper than through an electricity cable. On land, the green hydrogen can be put to good use in industry, the built environment, or transport. It’s expected to become commercially viable to produce hydrogen offshore after 2030.

Clean hydrogen

We’re working on technology to produce carbon-free hydrogen, through electrolysis using electricity from wind and solar. But this technique is still too expensive and too small-scale. Together with innovative companies, we’re organising a network to take electrolysis to the industrial scale. We’re doing this together with various parties, including equipment builders and material suppliers, in the Faraday Lab, the largest and most advanced hydrogen research facility in Europe.

Making fuels carbon-neutral

Carbon-neutral fuels are needed to make heavy transport, shipping, and aviation more sustainable. We’re working on production technology for biofuels and synthetic fuels. Valuable chemicals and fuels can be made from waste streams, such as waste wood and agricultural residues.

The search for affordable solutions

In our biofuels lab, our experts are working with companies on affordable solutions to convert these biomass waste streams into environmentally friendly biofuels. We’re also focusing on developing technologies to produce synthetic fuels made from CO, CO2, and hydrogen.

Efficiency and circularity

Integrating new technology

New ways of generating energy must always be integrated into the existing energy system; this is called systems integration. The energy sources listed above require existing infrastructure to be adapted and, to some extent, new infrastructure to be built. Other sustainable gases, such as green gas, synthetic gases and CO2, as well as raw materials or semi-finished products, may also require new infrastructure.

Changing industry

Another solution we’re working on is to redesign industry, which currently runs on fossil fuels and raw materials. These technological developments are for the long term, around 10 to 20 years. Together with experts from various disciplines, we’re devising new processes and materials, taking account of the consequences for society. We share these insights with the business community and government.