The world needs a disruptive technology to very quickly decarbonize the energy; the success of this technology depends heavily on its social acceptance, sustainability and fast and easy implementation. The proponents of 112CO2 believe to have this technology. Imagine that a new chemical reactor would make possible to use methane, an easy to transport and to store fuel, either fossil, renewable or synthetic, for producing COx-free hydrogen in a cost-effective way. Imagine that this approach could be implemented swiftly, taking advantage of the present infrastructure. 112CO2 project is about producing hydrogen from low temperature methane decomposition (MD), a 100 % selective reaction – CH4 → C (s) + 2 H2. The use of methane from biogas allows actively to remove CO2 from the atmosphere (negative carbon balance) but, if using fossil methane, there will be no COx emissions. 112CO2 project aims at developing a low temperature MD catalyst, easy to regenerate and very active, > 0.45 gH2/gCat/h and stable for at least 10 000 h. 112CO2 proposes an innovative regeneration step based on the selective hydrogenation of the carbon attaching interface with the catalyst, allowing to release the coke particles and the recovery of the catalytic activity. Proponents succeed very recently to demonstrate, in a 500-h experiment, that this approach is possible and easily accomplishable. A membrane reactor, made of a stack of individual cells for producing hydrogen and a stack for pumping out this fuel cell grade hydrogen, will be developed for running at ca. 600 °C and to display > 0.05 gH2/cm3/h, an energy density comparable to the PEMFC. The proposed MD reactor is suitable for mobile as well as for stationary applications. 112CO2 project proposes also an ambitious communication strategy, aim at to involve investors, existing companies, researchers, youngsters, undergraduate and graduate students for this new technology and engage them in the urgent energy decarbonization endeavour.

The decarbonization of the energy sector to mitigate climate change is a key challenge for the European Union (EU). This mandates a rapid and widespread implementation of a clean and affordable energy infrastructure in which photovoltaics (PV) will be a main pillar. Currently, PV represents only a small fraction of the global energy supply and PV modules are almost exclusively imported from outside the EU, associated with supply risks and a high CO2-footprint. Emerging perovskite PV has a tremendous potential to overcome these issues and revolutionise the EU energy sector. To unfold this potential, the DIAMOND project joins 6 European leading universities (UGroningen, UUppsala, EPFL, URome-TV, UPorto, UMarburg), 2 research institutes (Fraunhofer ISE, CEA) and 4 industry partners (Dyenamo, BeDimensional, Solaronix, PixelVoltaic) from 7 different countries to develop ultra-stable, highly-efficient and low-cost perovskite PV with minimised environmental impact. To achieve stabilities far beyond all previous achievements of PV solar cells, the project targets to develop novel hermetic encapsulation approaches and highly stable device designs that are evaluated by standardized and novel stability assessment methods. DIAMOND also aims to optimise materials and cell stacks to reach efficiencies exceeding the record values of silicon PV. Fully printable module architectures are targeted for rapid industrial up-scaling, allowing for lowest manufacturing costs and local production in the EU. To minimise the ecological impact, specific device designs that enable lowest CO2-footprint, material criticality and toxicity together with enhanced recyclability are targeted. Combining these ambitions, DIAMOND strives to provide a strong impact on the EUs future environmental, economic and societal development, paving the way for an EU-made sustainable energy technology with lowest CO2-footprint that ensures a full integration into the circular economy.