The 2nd D-Carbonize Workshop took place on October 14-15, 2024, at the Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (UISCR), University of Rennes.
The two-day workshop brought together all stakeholders involved in the D-Carbonize project, including doctoral candidates, consortium partners and industry experts. The event focused on polymer synthesis and catalysis for CO₂ conversion, providing an excellent opportunity for doctoral candidates to present their project advancements, be involved in networking and learn from the diverse sessions.
The workshop opened with a welcome from the project coordinator Arjan Kleij (ICIQ-CERCA), who gave an overview of the D-Carbonize project and outlined its ambitious goals: to foster research that aims to minimizes carbon emissions through innovative materials and processes.
Francesco Picchioni (University of Groningen) then took the stage to deliver a talk on “Novel Polymeric Materials by Extrusion”. Picchioni’s presentation discussed new approaches in polymer production, emphasizing the use of extrusion methods to create more sustainable and efficient materials.
Following this session, the D-Carbonize doctoral candidates (DCs) presented their ongoing research, their main project goals and the challenges they face.
DCs from left to right: Angelo Scopano, Natalia Kulbacka, Florian Barbaz, Enrico Lanaro and Lilas Aubel.
DCs from left to right: Hussein Tabaja, Sara Faoro, Elia Cecchetto, Giovanni Berluti, Owais Sheikh and Nishant Chaudhary.
The afternoon continued with a keynote presentation by Arjan Kleij, who returned to stage to discuss “The creation of functional monomers from carbon dioxide”. Kleij demonstrated how CO₂ can be transformed from a waste product into a valuable resource in the chemical industry, highlighting the potential of catalysis as a key enabling technology for minimizing carbon emissions.
The final talk of the day was delivered by Damien Belveze (University of Rennes), who spoke on “FAIR and Responsible Data Management.” Belveze provided practical insights into how researchers can ensure their data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR).
The second day began with Thibault Cantat (CEA), who gave a talk entitled “The catalytic conversion of CO₂ in a circular carbon economy”. Following this, the Supervisory Board and Management Team from ICIQ had a meeting to present the progress of the D-Carbonize project and plan the next steps. This session provided an opportunity to reflect on the achievements so far and to strategize future collaborations.
The event continued with a session on public speaking and communication strategies led by Arnau Jordà (ICIQ). His talk, titled “Engage and inspire: essential tips for public speaking”, provided attendees advice on how to effectively communicate their research, both within an academic context and towards a broader audience.
The workshop concluded with a session led by Florence Poirier (CERREV, University of Caen). In her presentation, titled “Perception Biases and Representations in Climate Change Research: Understanding and Overcoming”, Poirier explored how societal biases can shape the perception of climate research.
About D-Carbonize:
D-CARBONIZE’s primary objective is to shift the paradigm from a linear to a circular polymer/materials production, mitigating the environmental impact of plastic waste and microplastic accumulation. D-CARBONIZE’s approach involves utilizing biocarbon feedstock for the synthesis of valuable starting materials for the chemical and polymer industries. The project aims to provide innovative, low-carbon catalysis solutions, leveraging recent advances in catalysis science to overcome limitations in biocarbon valorization. The goal is to transform biocarbon resources into fine chemicals, pharmaceutical synthons, and biomass/CO₂ based polymers.
The consortium, comprising of 15 partners, is led by Prof. Arjan W. Kleij, Group Leader at ICIQ. The consortium is formed by six beneficiaries: the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ-CERCA), the University of Liege, Groningen University, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Heidelberg University and Polykey Polymers. The consortium is further complemented by four companies that host the student internships: BASF, Total Energies, Corning, and Celabor. Finally, the non-governmental organization CO₂ Value Europe supports the dissemination and training actions, whereas the associated universities Universitat Rovira i Virgili, the University of Rennes and the Universidad del Pais Vasco will provide double PhD titles.
This project has received funding from the European Union (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 101073223)