Imagine that the chimneys of a refinery were not the end of a polluting process, but the beginning of a journey. Imagine that carbon dioxide (CO2), the planet-warming gas, could be trapped in the air and “cooked” back into the clear liquid that drives the propellers of a ship or the turbines of an airplane. It is not science fiction, it is the reality that is being developed in the laboratories of the Institute of Catalysis and Petroleum Chemistry (ICP) of the CSIC. Leading this mission in Spain is Silvia Morales de la Rosa, researcher at the Sustainable Energy and Chemistry Group. With the clarity of someone who trusts that the world can be changed, the doctor in Chemical Sciences explains that the European STEROPE project is the bridge we needed. «This is not just a laboratory experiment. Its great differential value is that it seeks to demonstrate, in real conditions, how to convert CO2 emissions into sustainable fuels for ships and airplanes.
There will be three pilot plants to demonstrate that the technology is scalable throughout Europe. The first is already installed in the Spanish ICP, and there are two others under construction: one at the University of Genoa (Italy) – in charge of hunting CO2 – and another at the University of Ghent (Belgium), which will transform methanol into aviation fuel. The process, as detailed by the expert, is based on advanced technologies and the use of green hydrogen. The key part of this process is what happens, precisely, in our country.
And, on the CSIC campus in Madrid, Dr. Morales’ team has achieved an engineering milestone: a pilot plant that fits in a standard container. “We have built a transportable unit, designed to operate in a standard container and that can be transported to different facilities.” This “factory in a box” is responsible for producing methanol, and will soon travel to the Eleusis refinery in Greece to join the other pieces of the puzzle in Italy and Belgium.
Broadly speaking, Morales explains the entire process: «First of all, CO2 is captured and purified. Subsequently, CO2 reacts with hydrogen under conditions of elevated pressure and temperature through a catalytic process, generating methanol and water. That methanol ‘made in Spain’ is the “base ingredient.” It can fuel ships directly or, after going through another complex chemical process, be transformed into SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), the fuel that planes need to take off without leaving a fossil carbon footprint.
“Basically, we first convert methanol into olefins… which then undergo other catalytic processes (hydrogenation and hydroisomerization) and it is these synthetic fuels that will then be tested in aircraft turbines.” It is, in essence, recycling the air to fly again.
This joint effort between euro zone countries has a clear objective: independence. «The energy crisis has put a priority on the table: gaining independence from imported oil and gas, in Europe and in Spain. In this context, synthetic fuels appear as a strategic solution.
No fossil oil in 2050
The regulations of The European Union is a countdown: by 2050, 70% of aviation fuel must be renewable. STEROPE not only seeks to comply with the law, but to exceed it. The initial analyzes are astonishing: while the standard requires a 70% reduction in emissions, This project aims higher. «The first analyzes of the life cycle of the STEROPE process indicate reductions of 90-95% in emissions, as long as green hydrogen produced with renewable energy is used.
For skeptics who believe that this only prolongs the life of the refineries, Morales is blunt: as long as there are no commercial electric airplanes, this is the most real solution we have. «Sectors such as aviation or maritime transport do not have viable electrical alternatives today. So… this would be one of the most immediate solutions that we already have very close to the market. And Spain has a key competitive advantage that positions us in the market.
Thanks to our sun and wind, we can produce the amount of green hydrogen that this process needs. The STEROPE project, with its 7 million euro budget, is the training ground for Spain to lead this race. “If the tests work, the jump to semi-commercial plants could occur in a few years,” says the researcher.
What the CSIC team is building is a way to close the circle. It is not just about technology, but about turning a problem – CO2 – into a great energy solution. The next time you see a plane contrail in the sky, think that, thanks to scientists like Silvia, that contrail could have been produced by “recycling smoke.”