Page 155 - CW E-Magazine (4-6-2024)

News from Abroad

DECARBONISING TRANSPORTATION
Syzygy Plasmonics and RTI International conduct

pilot run of novel CO -to-fuel technology
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US-based Syzygy Plasmonics and of Syzygy’s CO -reforming reactors cells in a multi-cell stack at a third-party
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the nonprofit research institute, RTI with RTI’s Fischer-Tropsch (FT) pilot site, demonstrating Syzygy’s pathway
International, have successfully demon- plant to produce FT crude, which can for scaling its technology. At com-
strated an all-electric CO -to-fuel be further refined into aviation-grade mercial scale, a typical Syzygy plant
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production pathway at RTI’s facility in kerosene. When fed by captured CO will consume nearly 200,000 tons of
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Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and combined with biogas, landfill CO per year, the equivalent of taking
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USA. gas, or renewable natural gas, this 45,000 cars off the road.
solution delivers extremely low-car-
Syzygy is a deep-decarbonisation bon and low-cost sustainable aviation “The results of this demonstration
company specialising in building fuel (SAF). are encouraging and represent an
reactors that use light instead of heat to important milestone in our collaboration
electrify chemical manufacturing. “This project showcases our ability with Syzygy. We are pleased to have
to fight climate change by converting played an impactful role in shaping
The new technology can signifi- harmful greenhouse gases into fuel,” this promising technology,” said Dr.
cantly decarbonise transportation by said Syzygy’s CEO Mr. Trevor Best. Sameer Parvathikar, Director of renew-
converting two potent greenhouse gases, “Our light-driven reactors produce valu- able energy and energy storage at RTI.
carbon dioxide (CO ) and methane able syngas at a ratio that is ideal for
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(CH ), into low-carbon-intensity fuels feeding Fischer-Tropsch units to pro- In addition to this CO -to-fuel
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that can be used to lower the carbon duce SAF. Syzygy syngas can also be demonstration, Syzygy’s Ammonia
footprint of fossil-based jet fuel, diesel, used to produce diesel, gasoline, and e-Cracking technology has completed
and gasoline. The pilot project was methanol. At scale, we’re talking about over 2,000 hours of performance and
sponsored by Equinor Ventures and significantly reducing and potentially optimisation testing at its manufactur-
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas eliminating the carbon intensity of ing facility in Houston, Texas. Syzygy
(SCOA). shipping, trucking, and aviation. This is in negotiations to finalise a site and
is a major step toward quickly and cost partners for building a commercial
Results from this demonstration effectively cutting emissions from the CO -to-fuel plant and is accepting
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will provide data that will be used to heavy-duty transport sector,” he added. orders for its Rigel photocatalytic
design and build commercial CO -to- reactor cells, which are designed for the
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fuel plants enabled by Syzygy’s tech- This project marks the successful commercial production of e-fuels and
nology. The project combined three integration of multiple Syzygy reactor hydrogen.
FMC and Optibrium to deploy AI-ML to accelerate

discovery of novel crop protection solutions

FMC Corporation, the US-based brium marks a pivotal moment in crop and StarDrop technologies to further in-
agrochemicals firm, has joined hands protection research,” said Dr. Seva Ros- ternal R&D. Cerella is an AI platform
with Optibrium, a UK-based developer tovtsev, FMC Executive VP and Chief enhancing molecular discovery with deep
of software and artificial intelligence Technology Officer. “By integrating AI learning, enabling more accurate predic-
(AI) solutions for small molecule dis- into our R&D efforts, we aim to revo- tions and better experimental prioritisation
covery. The collaboration aims to lutionise how we develop sustainable to improve return on investment. StarDrop
accelerate the discovery of novel crop solutions for farmers and ultimately complements this further through small
protection technologies by leveraging enhance global food security.” molecule design and optimisation, inte-
the power of machine learning (ML) grating with Cerella to leverage AI for
and AI. “Our collaboration with Opti- FMC will utilise Optibrium’s Cerella improved data analysis in discovery.

Chemical Weekly June 4, 2024 155

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