Special and fine chemicals are an important part of the chemical, materials, agro- and pharmaceutical industries. The majority of current production processes of special and fine chemicals are based on fossil resources. In addition, their synthesis requires much energy and generates a lot of waste. By using hydrogen and green electrons, the synthesis of these chemicals can be made more sustainable, more efficient and a lot cleaner.

At the University of Amsterdam, the Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences will receive almost €1,5 million HyFINE funding to appoint three PhD candidates under the supervision of Prof. Bas de Bruin and Prof. Joost Reek (Homogeneous, Supramolecular and Bio-inspired catalysis group) and to Prof. Timothy Noël (Flow Chemistry group). They will explore first-row transition metal catalysts for hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and terpenoids, develop new catalysts for paint curing and build a new automated photoreactor platform.

HyFINE, Green Hydrogen and Electrons for Specialty and Fine Chemicals

Led by TNO, HyFINE is a collaboration between nine universities, three universities of applied sciences, three research institutes and twenty companies. Their goal is to create climate-neutral, circular production of ingredients for applications such as adhesives, paints, plastics and cosmetics. Beyond technology development, HyFINE focuses on training new experts and sharing knowledge to establish the Netherlands as a leader in green chemistry. Adding to the NWO/Groenvermogen funding, the consortium has raised nearly €2 million in co-funding and contributes €2.8 million of own contribution of businesses and civil society organisations. The total investment in therefore €24.2 million.

See also

• 19,3-million euro for consortium for making the special and fine chemicals more sustainable