Gaznat fund at EPFL

Gaznat supports R&D

As part of its commitment to funding research and development projects, Gaznat entered into an agreement with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne to launch calls for projects at the laboratories and research institutes of the university.

Eleven research projects have already been selected through two calls for proposals between 2016 and 2018. These projects focus on diverse topics related to CO2 and energy efficiency, including: CO2 capture using graphene membranes, geological sequestration of CO2, micro-cogeneration based on natural gas, the development of cells that convert CO2 into fuel using solar energy, or the electrochemical conversion of CO2 into ethylene.

These projects are: 

 

In a 3rd call for projects, 4 projects were selected:

1) hydrogen production;
2) cogeneration;
3) advanced separation and 4) CO2 capture.

1) Hydrogen production
Prof. Xile Hu, Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Catalysis
Project: Construction of an electrolyzer with a high efficiency anion exchange membrane.
Objective: to realize a prototype of hydrogen production based on the AEMWE (Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer) technology.

2) Cogeneration
Prof. Jürg Schiffmann, Laboratory of Applied Mechanical Design
Project: Highly efficient fuel cell system combined with a turbine (FC-GT hybrid systems) and including an integrated carbon separator.
Objective: To realize an efficient cogeneration prototype (reverse Brayton cycle) for electricity and heat production from natural gas by combining a heat pump (SOFC) with a micro-turbine while separating CO2.

3) Advanced Separation
Prof. Kumar Agrawal, Laboratory of Advanced Separations
Project: development of zeolite membranes for H2/CO2 separation. This technology could also be applied to biogas purification or hydrogen separation from methane.

4) CO2 capture
Prof. Wendy Queen, Laboratory for Functional Inorganic Materials
Project: Demonstration of the use of amine-impregnated nanoporous materials for post-combustion carbon capture.
Objective: to test amine-impregnated porous materials (MOF, Metal Organic Framework or porous coordination polymers) for the absorption of carbon dioxide molecules with high selectivity.

 

More information is available on the Gaznat fund page on the EPFL website.