€1.5M For Sustainable Specialty And Fine Chemicals

NWO and the National Growth Fund foundation GroenvermogenNL award €19.3M to the HyFINE project to make the synthesis of speciality and fine chemicals more sustainable. The project is expected to make an important contribution to the decarbonisation of the Dutch chemical industry. Researchers from the University of Twente are participating as partners with €1.5M in funding, alongside the UT spin-off Sulis Polymers.

Speciality and fine chemicals are essential to the chemical, materials, agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. Current production processes rely heavily on fossil-based feedstocks, consume large amounts of energy and generate significant volumes of waste. Making these processes more sustainable is therefore important on multiple fronts. By using hydrogen and green electrons, synthesis routes can be made shorter, cleaner and more efficient. This can be achieved, for example, through electrochemical reactions or photo/redox catalysis, enabling thermodynamically "uphill" reactions that are not feasible using conventional methods.

The funded project: HyFINE – Green Hydrogen and Electrons for Specialty and Fine Chemicals
HyFINE is a Dutch initiative that brings together a consortium of universities, research institutes and industry partners to make the production of chemicals more sustainable and affordable. The project aims to replace fossil-based feedstocks such as oil and natural gas with renewable resources, including waste streams, using clean energy sources such as green hydrogen and renewable electricity. Its goal is to enable climate-neutral, circular production of chemical building blocks for applications including adhesives, coatings, plastics and cosmetics. In addition to developing new technologies, HyFINE focuses on educating the next generation of experts and sharing knowledge to strengthen the Netherlands' position as a leader in green chemistry.