ACCESS - Active Carbon Capture for Sustainable Synthesis (ACCeSS)

ACCESS - Active Carbon Capture for Sustainable Synthesis (ACCeSS)

Duration:      2024 - 2026

Funding:      Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Project description:

Anthropogenic climate change is primarily caused by aerosol emissions and greenhouse gases, of which CO2 has the greatest impact. Combustion engines, coal- and gas-fired power plants, and industrial processes have caused an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations from 280 ppm (pre-industrial) to a record high of 421 ppm in May 2022. Climate warming is accompanied by altered precipitation patterns, severe weather events, and reduced weather predictability. This poses a major challenge for crop production and thus for food security and biodiversity conservation.
Within the framework of ACCeSS, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), and RWTH Aachen University (RWTH Aachen University) are combining their strengths and expertise in green and white biotechnology and membrane biology to address this major challenge of the 21st century. ACCeSS represents a circular approach to deliver solutions and new concepts that make human-caused CO2 manageable. It uses energy to fix CO2 in carbohydrates through photosynthesis, which are then converted into high-value or bulk compounds through chemo-/biocatalysis. ACCeSS will thus contribute to laying the foundations for interdisciplinary methods/technologies for climate-neutral to net CO2-negative processes. For more information click here.