The research in the Chemical Processes & Materials (CPM) Research Group focuses on applications in energy and sustainability. We work on valorisation of unavoidable waste, turning it into base-chemicals and energy carriers such as hydrogen. We develop carbon capture and utilization processes which are an important component of the drive to net-zero carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Energy storage materials are being designed and improved, for instance in light of the electrification of mobility. Hydrocarbons will remain a part of the energy mix in the foreseeable future. Optimisation – for instance through Artificial Intelligence – of enhanced hydrocarbon recovery is a significant research activity in the group. Large-scale production, storage and distribution of hydrogen comes with vast (engineering) challenges; we are committed to contributing to ways of overcoming these.
These research activities are underpinned by a range of experimental and modelling capabilities that operate on a wide spectrum of length and time scales. From the (large) systems level (the circular economy) to measuring and simulating at the molecular scale. More specifically, we have expertise in catalysis (e.g. non-thermal plasma catalysis), reactor engineering, spectroscopy, electrochemical analysis, multi-scale simulation of transport processes, colloids and interfaces, chemical thermodynamics & process simulation, and various technologies for hydrocarbon production.