University of Antwerp sets up Electrification Institute with 100 researchers (Antwerp)

The University of Antwerp (UA) will set up a new institute that wants to play a role in the evolution towards climate neutrality. In total, more than a hundred researchers will be part of the so-called Electrification Institute, a press release said on Friday.

The (petro)chemical industry still runs 90 percent on fossil fuels. “That is why the industry must find a way to run processes on electricity,” explains Quinten Van Avondt (UA). “Only in this way will it be possible to achieve ‘net zero’. Work must be done on cost-efficient electrification routes.”

Within the Electrification Institute, numerous researchers will join forces with one goal: making processes sustainable so that fossil fuels become redundant. The electrification techniques that are currently being tested in labs must be scaled up for industrial use in the coming years. With spin-offs such as D-CRBN, steps have already been taken in recent years to apply technologies in practice.

“Science agrees that electrochemistry and plasma chemistry, among others, are technologies that will make chemical processes sustainable,” Van Avondt continues. “The University of Antwerp has expertise in all these possible electrification routes.” Plasma chemistry is a technique in which molecules are heated to extremely high temperatures with fossil-free electricity. The molecules become so hot that they break apart into pieces. These fragments can then react with each other and form new molecules.

Finally, the Electrification Institute wants to play a role in the ‘Future Pact for the Flemish Industry’, which was recently launched by the Flemish government and four industry federations. BlueApp, the UAntwerp building on Petroleum Zuid, will become the institute’s home base.