OTP - Ultrafast

Title: Accessing ultrafast timescales to achieve a climate neutral chemical industry

Duration: 2025 - 2029
Researchers: Simona Cristescu, Jonas Kuijpers, Roderik Krebbers
Funding: NWO OTP
Project partners: Brightsite Plasmalab (Maastricht University), ASML, TNO

As the chemical industry shifts towards electrified and circular chemical processes, methane is expected to become a major bottleneck for closing the carbon loop. It is critical that methane is valorised rather than burnt for energy to achieve zero CO2 emissions. This project develops ultrafast plasma pyrolysis of methane to ethylene as innovative and economically viable technology for methane valorisation. It requires fundamental insight into chemical kinetics occurring on microsecond timescales, which are resolved by combining solid state microwave generators with mid-infrared frequency combs spectroscopy.