THE FUTURE, - Solvay

NS
Micro-algae for capturing CO 2
CO 2 , BIOFUEL ... THE POTENTIAL OF MICRO-ALGAE IS SEDUCTIVE AND FITS PERFECTLY WITH THE NEW
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
Micro-algae attract lots of attention
today, including Solvay’s! Antoine
Amory, CC Advanced Technologies,
who heads up the ‘micro-algae’
working group on the green chemistry
platform: “These micro-organisms
have enormous potential! More than
their use to produce biofuel, it is their
ability to absorb CO2 through
photosynthesis which Solvay is
interested in. If one day we are going
to be taxed on our CO2 emissions, it
is important to limit them. Micro-algae
are very prolific, sometimes thirty
times more than the average for other
New international
partnership
Solvay has launched a Global Discovery Program
with fi ve partners: the Georgia Institute of
Technology (Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics), Princeton University (New Jersey)
and the University of Washington (Seattle)
in the United States, Imperial College London
(UK) and the Institute of Chemistry of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences
in Beijing (China). The main area of
research is organic transistors
(soft chips), along with research
into organic photovoltaic cells
(fl exible solar panels).
plants. Micro-algae can be also
grown on arid land, which means they
don’t compete with food crops.”
OBSERVE AND EVALUATE
For the moment, Solvay is keeping a
close watch on research in this area.
“The current problem of micro-algae
is the exploitation technology, and
especially its cost. Today, we are
interested in start-ups that are
seeking solutions to the problem, for
example by simultaneously taking
advantage of the capabilities of algae
to both absorb CO2 and to purify
Solvay has invested EUR 1.49 million
in ACAL Energy, a British company
founded in 2004, which is proposing
to replace the platinum cathode in fuel
cells by its own liquid electrolytes,
which are cheaper, more reliable and
last longer. This technology
breakthough, called FlowCath R,
GROUP > Panorama
water. And if their project looks to us
to be scientifically and financially
feasible, we could end up concluding
a research partnership.” Nor is a
project that is not exploitable today
necessarily condemned to oblivion.
“We are working with medium and
long term horizons”, says Antoine
Amory. “What is not viable today may
be tomorrow. Because technology
and market conditions change, and
also because Solvay could, why not,
one day supplement its portfolio with
products manufactured from essentially
renewable raw materials.”
Breakthrough innovation
in fuel cells
SOLVAY IS INVESTING IN A BRITISH COMPANY WHICH HAS DEVELOPED
TECHNOLOGY THAT REDUCES THE USE OF PRECIOUS METALS IN
CATALYSTS.
signifi cantly reduces the cost of fuel
cells and will therefore accelerate their
deployment on the market. For
Leopold Demiddeleer, who heads up
‘Future Businesses’ at Solvay, “this
investment is in line with our strategy
of maximizing the value of our
SolviCore joint venture, which could
adjust its offering of membrane
electrode assemblies to include this
technology breakthrough if it proves a
winner.” ACAL Energy intends to
present this year a demonstration fuel
cell producing 1 kW of energy,
enabling it to target the stationary
micro-residential market.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 7