Ambitious program for new chemistry

“How can we bundle 'the best The Netherlands has to offer' to develop new chemistry? How do we find new 'chemical pathways' that allow us to make chemistry from a range of unorthodox sources and still achieve economic returns?” Professor Bert Weckhuysen, a Dutchified Flemish, professor at Utrecht University, proves his didactic prowess by briefly and concisely explaining what he wants together with his companions from Groningen University and Eindhoven University of Technology. With professors Feringa and Kuipers from these respective academic strongholds, Weckhuysen has succeeded in building an impressive consortium with chemical giants AkzoNobel, BASF and Shell. Under the name ARC CBBC, Advanced Research Centre for Chemical Building Blocks Consortium, the initiative was launched in June, with the explicit support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, NWO). What is this about and what could it mean for the technology sectors in the Netherlands? A conversation with Bert Weckhuysen and Adrie Huesman from Shell sheds light on a fascinating world with future prospects. Both men tell a fascinating story about how to get such a trajectory off the ground, how to select partners and get them excited about investing money in joint breakthrough research. “No, twenty-three parties was too complicated. We thought limiting ourselves to biomass as a raw material was too much of a ‘one issue’. Ultimately, the three companies found each other in the combination of each other’s areas of interest. For Shell, that is finding new energy carriers. AkzoNobel is looking for a new generation of coatings, from other chemistry. BASF’s interest lies in functional materials, more specifically, catalysis materials. What we also want is to activate small molecules, see what we can make from methane, from nitrogen and from CO2. There are tough technological nuts to crack there.” “The possibilities for such reactions have been looked at for decades, but we think that it can only succeed if we bring together disciplines that have not yet found each other. For example, from the microreactor world together with catalysis people. We actually want to get some oddballs in our consortium.” Weckhuysen calls the setup of this kind of multi-year research programs a new 'construct'. A limited number of companies and professors take the lead and if the program is defined by important research areas relevant to the parties, which can be linked to major social questions, then other parties can join in, more or less 'buy in'. It is a new approach of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which is also followed at ARC NL, for nanolithography, with ASML and at Qutech, for quantum computing, together with Microsoft and other companies. Adrie Huesman explains Shell's interest. “Shell is increasingly looking at the energy transition and what is needed for that. That means research with a horizon of ten to twenty years. That has to start now, even though we know that we will continue to use fossil sources for a long time. In the future, we can only realize large-scale electrification with wind and sun if we tackle the challenges of energy storage and conversion and find solutions for them. In addition, natural gas is not only a good transition fuel, but it can also become an attractive raw material for chemistry. The underlying problems make fundamental research necessary. In addition to technical feasibility, costs and footprint also play an important role. Shell is doing some of this research itself, but would also like to do some of it together with universities and non-competing partners.”  What will happen next after the June announcement? “A call has been issued for researchers to register as a ‘CBBC member’. These members can submit project proposals later. The criteria for becoming a member have been established, and individuals are also actively approached to register. In addition to the three major parties that are participating, other companies can also join based on purchasing ‘tickets’ for certain programme components.” According to Weckhuysen, all kinds of participation are possible, as long as it fits within the broad scope of CBBC. So it must concern chemistry and chemical technology.  What about instrumentation? Weckhuysen: “Of course, equipment will be needed, some of which may not even exist yet. Within the program, money has been set aside for the development and purchase of advanced instrumentation. We expect that ‘breakthrough equipment’ will be needed and will be realized. We also plan to collaborate with parties that are active in instrumentation and can help us design and realize complex equipment.”  When asked about the size of the whole thing, the men remain somewhat noncommittal. “At least several hundred scientists have been invited and the participating companies are also deploying dozens of researchers to make ARC CBBC a success. ARC CBBC currently consists of three university hubs, in Utrecht, mainly focused on heterogeneous catalysis, in Groningen, mainly for homogeneous catalysis and the third in Eindhoven, focused on process and separation technology. But we are open to other parties.” In terms of budget, the program will involve approximately 11 million euros in the coming year. That is how it finally becomes clear. Looking back at the story, a hopeful conclusion emerges: even chemistry is getting out of its comfort zone!   See also: Report 3, 2016