The recent 20 years have seen the discovery of new classes of hybrid nanoporous materials (NPMs). It includes amorphous mesoporous aluminosilicates and Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). Despite the great potential of this new class of materials, we cannot recognize industrial success yet. The very limited number of NPMs available in the needed quantity, with prices and shapes compatible for a first demonstration prevent them to penetrate markets.
The ProDIA project aims to accelerate the industrialisation of hybrid nanoporous materials in Europe by:
- develop production technologies and methods, including shaping, for MOFs and aluminosilicates, which are price competitive or at least in the same range as other state of the art porous solids (10-100 €/kg)
- set-up production facilities in Europe for the production of a variety of NPMs with chemical and mechanical stabilities and with safety requirements which allow them to be sold, distributed and used in the industry.
The project will thus develop three innovative processes (water-based synthesis, mechanosynthesis and spray-drying) for cost-effective production of NPMs meeting industrial expectations with improved reliability and repeatability at pilot-scale. The industrial relevance of these NPMs will be demonstrated in four applications: gas storage, air purification, heat pumps and health care.
These hybrid organic-inorganic nano porous materials will be formulated, fabricated and up-scaled to pilot capacities to demonstrate the relevance in terms of properties, reproducibility, quality control and costs for industrial applications.
Besides being the coordinator of the project, SINTEF contribute to the development of shaping techniques based on the use of cross bonding alginates and testing of NPMs for onboard gas storage.
The consortium is composed of 5 research and technology organisations, 1 university and 1 association together with 5 industrial Partners, including 2 SMEs and a spin-off being created; linking technology providers and academic Partners with industrial end-users. The financial resources mobilized by the 12 Partners represent a maximum grant amount of 7 030 831 € with a global effort of 760 person months.
EU - Horizon 2020 program (NMP-3-2015; Manufacturing and control of nanoporous materials).
