Carbon Dioxide Activation Center (CADIAC)

The objective of the Carbon Dioxide Activation Center (CADIAC) is to unveil fundamentally new science for the activation of CO2, thereby providing smart sustainable solutions for the exploitation of this molecule as a valuable C1-feedstock to high-value chemicals of industrial importance.

Only through an international and multi-disciplinary effort can this ambitious objective be achieved, combining expertise from four research teams in catalysis, materials chemistry, surface chemistry and electrochemistry.

We will generate materials not only displaying catalytic activity with high selectivity and efficiency properties for CO2 conversion, but also materials that can absorb CO2, thus assuring a sufficiently high “concentration” of CO2 close to the catalyst.

By merging the worlds of homogeneous catalysis with surface and materials science, we will be able to identify more advanced systems, which through optimized and controlled catalysis, transport processes and product formation, are able to deliver the desired high-value products in a sustainable manner.

It is our goal to change the perception of CO2 as a problematic combustion product to a valuable resource, which is essential for creating an energy and resource efficient society with a small carbon footprint.