Pioneer Database Is Online!

Finally, after hundreds of hours of work in total, the Pioneer consortium proudly presents the Pioneer Database (PDB)! The PDB is filled with experimental data collected from literature on the performance of plasma(-catalytic) conversion of CO2. It is open-access and allows the community to put their own results into context and to deduce underlying trends. Furthermore, researchers are invited to provide their own published results to the PDB to increase the visibility of their work but also to make the tool even more powerful. For all the details also check our publication on the PDB!

Plot of the conversion of CO2 against the specific energy input as extracted from the PDB within seconds.

Congratulations to Dr. Biondo

Shortly before the summer break, on July 3 2023, Omar Biondo successfully defended his PhD thesis titled “Towards a fundamental understanding of energy-efficient, plasma-based CO2 conversion”. He thereby received his PhD degree from University of Antwerp and Eindhoven University of Technology (the work was partly carried out at DIFFER). Congratulation Dr. Biondo!

Congratulations to Dr. Nguyen-Quang

Yet another PhD! Minh Nguyen-Quang defended his thesis titled “Efficient catalyst preparation for plasma-assisted CO2 methanation.” on May 2 2023 and was awarded the PhD degree from University of Caen and AGH Univiversity of Science and Technology, Krakow. Congratulations Dr. Nguyen-Quang!

Congratulations to Dr. Garcia Soto

On April 28 2023, Carolina Garcia Soto defended her thesis titled “Fundamental study of plasma-catalytic surface interactions for CO2 conversion and application of fluidized bed reactors” and obtained her PhD degree from École Polytechnique as well as University of Bucharest. Congratulations Dr. Garcia Soto!

Congratulations to Dr. Fromentin

Since last week we have another doctor in the consortium! On April 14 2023, Chloé Fromentin defended her thesis, titled “Reaction mechanism for CO2-N2 low-temperature plasmas: the role played by O2 and N2 on the CO2 vibrational kinetics and dissociation”, and obtained her PhD degree from IST of University of Lisbon with distinction. Congratulations Dr. Fromentin!

First Patent of the Pioneer Project

When it comes to dissemination, the first thing that comes to mind in a project like Pioneer is probably publishing in academic journals or contributions to conferences. However, at the front of an innovative topic like plasma catalysis, patents are also very interesting. Recently, Minh Nguyen Quang and co-workers filed patent FR2210833 in France. This is the first patent of the Pioneer project. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Dr. Hasrack!

While the end of the PIONEER project might cause mixed feelings, it also means that one after another the ESRs obtain their PhD degrees – without a doubt a very important moment in their lives. Already last December, Golshid Hasrack obtained her PhD from Sorbonne University and IST of University of Lisbon. She defended her thesis, titled “Tailoring selectivity with different plasma sources for CO2 hydrogenation” on December 7 2022. Congratulations Dr. Hasrack!

International Symposium Plasma Catalysis for CO2 Recycling

From September 13 to 15 the Pioneer project reached one of the final mile stones: The organization of our own scientific conference! During the International Symposium Plasma Catalysis for CO2 Recycling at AGH university in Krakow, Poland not only all ESRs shared their work but also plenty of colleagues and friends from the CO2 plasma catalysis community. The fact that our field is not only fascinating but also represents an enormous economic potential was underlined by various participants from industry, in particular innovative start-ups.

The conference was followed by the last official Pioneer meeting. The project is coming to an end and we used this opportunity to recall the past, identify current opportunities and look ahead at a time after Pioneer with continued collaboration. Maybe even a Pioneer 2.0? Stay tuned!

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