FIREFLY
FlexIble, predictive and Renewable Electricity powered electrochemical toolbox
For a sustainable transition of the catalyst-based European chemicaL industry.
Vision.
To bring the ongoing climate-neutral revolution to the chemical industry, not just by building on current progress in converting power into chemicals, but also by pioneering the development and use of cutting-edge electrochemical processes to recycle spent catalysts.
FIREFLY is a groundbreaking example of merging research in sustainable chemistry, sustainable materials, and renewable energy to form a technological vision for a better world.
The challenge.
The current manufacturing and recycling of many catalysts is neither sustainable nor economically viable. The production of catalysts may include energy-intensive and polluting procedures. Furthermore, existing recycling processes are dominated by highly intensive and carbon-polluting techniques.
Additionally, waste catalysts may not match the criteria for economic profit with current technologies, therefore they are disposed away.
Energy-intensive Processes
Catalyst Waste
Carbon-polluting Techniques
Approach & solutions.
FIREFLY project rises to these challenges as the first initiative to evolve the catalyst-based chemical industry towards sustainable electrification and reduced third-party dependence on metals and fossil energy.
The project focuses on the development of:
- Electro-driven technologies for metal recycling from spent, waste, and off-specification catalysts available in Europe.
- Efficient integration of Renewable Energy Sources.
- A data-driven AI-based digital tool for predictive decision making.
- Production of (electro)catalysts for innovative (electro)chemical processes that overcome traditional production associated with high operating conditions, greenhouse gas emissions, and lack of circularity.
The project's goal is to make the catalyst-based chemical industry more sustainable by developing cutting edge, renewable energy powered electrochemical processes to recycle spent metal catalysts.
Pilot
Innovative processes tested in realistic industrial settings.
A limited number of flowsheets (process combinations) will be created and built to form a small-scale pilot.
They will be demonstrated in the predictive, RES-powered, and flexible manufacturing of new metal-based (electro)catalysts, as well as the application of these outputs in innovative (electro)chemical processes of selected compounds.
Our role.
Inlecom Innovation leads the development of the AI-based tool, which will predict the output of each individual electrochemical process and propose the optimal flowsheet (combination of processes) for the recycling spent catalyst.
This project has received funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under GA 101091715. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
