EU Backs MACBETH Project with Approximately €16.6 Million in Funding

Evonik continues to strengthen its position as one of the leading companies in C4 chemistry. MACBETH (Membranes And Catalysts Beyond Economic and Technological Hurdles), the largest project to date coordinated by Evonik and financed by the EU, was recently launched. The project aims to develop a new process for catalytic synthesis with appropriate separation equipment in a single, high-efficiency catalytic membrane reactor (CMR). MACBETH is the follow-up project to ROMEO (Reactor Optimization by Membrane Enhanced Operation), which was completed in September 2019.

The newly established project consortium consists of 24 partners from ten different countries. It brings together expertise in membranes, carriers, reactors, engineering, modeling and catalysis from an end-user perspective.

Marc Oliver Kristen, Head of Evonik Innovation Agency and MACBETH Project Manager, said: "It is crucial that we think beyond the boundaries of chemistry, share knowledge and benefit from synergies. No single company could ever achieve this. Our consortium brings together the knowledge required for the desired breakthrough in catalytic synthesis." In individual sub-projects, the new reactor concept is now being applied and implemented for various chemical reactions. This includes hydroformylation for specialty chemicals, hydrogen production for the transport and power generation sector, propane dehydrogenation (PDH) for large-volume chemicals, and biocatalytic fat separation for biotechnologically produced products. For Evonik, the project's focus is on the hydroformylation reaction. In this catalysis, traditionally carried out homogeneously, synthesis gas is used to convert olefins into aldehydes. Sustainability is a key factor here: in large-scale industrial processes, the planned reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will reach 35%, and the increase in resource and energy efficiency will reach 70%. In addition, the new reactor design not only guarantees smaller and even safer production facilities. It also helps strengthen the leading role in the market, as in the future the investment costs (CAPEX) and operating costs (OPEX) of such systems can be reduced by up to 50% and 80% respectively.