PARADiSE

Renewable energy can reduce the CO2-cost of energy production and the reliance on fossil fuels. However, their intermittency, the distance between the production and energy consumption locations, and the lack of good energy storage systems, hinder the integration of photovoltaic and wind into energy-intensive industries.

How do we shape our material economy without relying on fossil fuels or scarce biological resources? The answer of project PARADiSE: to store renewable energy by converting common molecules, such as water and carbon dioxide, into chemical building blocks for the chemical industry and for the production of synthetic green fuels, also called “solar fuels.”

PARADiSE focuses on an innovative approach to decompose CO₂ into CO and O₂, that relies on plasmas to activate de strong C=O bond, requiring only renewable electricity. The plasmas utilized are out-of-equilibrium and a key role in overcoming the high activation barrier for bond breaking is played by internally excited molecules and atoms, that are expected to stimulate gas-phase and/or catalytic surface reactions.

The proposed research consists of a thorough theoretical, modelling and experimental investigation of plasma decomposition of CO₂s. It builds on the results of the previous project PREMiERE and explores three research lines: extension of the previous results to plasma sources widely used for technological applications; fundamental studies on the influence of industrial gases; and study of plasma-surface interactions. The research team will work in close collaboration with several foreign laboratories, that have world-class experimental facilities and will conduct a series of measurement campaigns tailored to the needs of the project.

By its end the project will unveil the mechanisms underlying plasma CO₂ dissociation, identify the optimal conditions for a plasma reactor to operate and produce a proof-of-concept prototype, paving the PlasmA RoAD to Solar fuEls (PARADiSE).