AMBER scientist part of international consortium investigating materials to reduce atmospheric CO2

30 July 2020

Scientists at AMBER, the SFI Research Centre for Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research, CRANN and the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin, have secured investment in a new international collaboration that will focus on reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide and tackle climate change challenges.

The project titled ‘Development of a Highly Efficient and Practical Carbon Management System for Improving Qatar’s Sustainability: A Holistic Approach’, will be lead by Qatar University and Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), alongside teams from the University of Calgary (Canada), Imperial College London (UK); Georgia State University (USA); and Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (Germany) and Trinity College Dublin.The 5 year project has secured €5.4 million from the Qatar National Research Fund and private co-funding.

The project aims to develop an efficient and practical carbon management system. Using innovative materials, the proposed technology aims at having the capacity to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations by capturing excess CO2 directly from the atmosphere, and using the captured gasses to feed agricultural greenhouses and also converting it into value-added products.

Prof. Stefano Sanvito, AMBER, Director or CRANN and School of Physics explains, “We aim at developing new technology for controlling and improving air quality, through CO2 capturing and reconversion. The project will have strong impacts in sustainable energy, health and food security. We are thrilled to work with a consortium covering all aspects of the problem, from the most fundamental physical/chemical ones, to the development of efficient air purification systems, to the evaluation of their economic impact. My team will design new metal-organic molecular structures for CO2 capture using a combination of advanced electronic structure theory and machine-learning methods.”

Extending his congratulations to the team, Executive Director of Qatar National Research Fund, Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie said: “We believe this cluster project will ensure that Qatar benefits from the research outcomes and strengthen mutually beneficial and constructive collaborations between relevant local and international stakeholders.”

Project lead, Dr Marc Vermeersch, executive director of Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, added: “We are honoured to be leading this project, and I congratulate the team, who showed a lot of effort, resilience and perseverance. This outstanding project will not only contribute to supporting Qatar to tackle its grand challenges in energy, water and the environment, but also build a platform to further enhance collaborations among national stakeholders and promote in-country capacity building through the involvement of graduate students.”