Project goals and working methods

In this project, a consortium of experienced researchers from academic institutions and industry from India and Germany are working together to convert CO₂ into valuable intermediates using low olefins from renewable sources. The key to our approach is the use of CO₂ as an oxidant for the epoxidation of lower alkenes, whereby CO is produced as a valuable by-product, and as a carboxylating agent for the C-H binding of lower alkenes, producing acrylic acid. Within the framework of the project, nanoporous catalysts tailored to the CO₂ conversion will be industrialized. Furthermore, the reactions will be scaled up and tested in an industrial environment and the ecological impact will be assessed by means of a life cycle analysis. The new value chain enables access to basic chemicals in which the entire carbon comes from sustainable sources.