The European Union signed an 10 M€ contract with a consortium led by TUDelft Catalysis Engineering team of Kapteijn and Gascon to develop energy efficient CO₂ capture in power plants and energy intensive industries, both for pre- and post-combustion. The consortium of 16 European partners will develop high performance Mixed Matrix Membranes based on engineered Metal-organic frameworks and polymers for continuous CO₂ separation. The highly selective membranes will allow CO₂ capture at costs below 15 €/ton CO₂ (≈ 10-15 €/MWh), amply meeting targets of the European SET plan.

These metal organic frameworks (MOFs), hybrid porous crystalline materials, are a hallmark of the CE section, with applications in catalysis, adsorption, separation, sensing and luminescence. The consortium of key players in the fields of MOFs, polymers, membranes, engineering and industry will apply the innovative concept of MOF based mixed matrix membranes to develop continuous separation processes of unsurpassed energy efficiency, reducing the energy penalty, physical footprint and environmental impact of CO₂ separation with an associated cost efficiency.