The proceedings of the workshop were summarized in a report, entitled “Going beyond electrification to achieve a low-carbon world by 2050: The contribution of direct solar fuels technologies” which now available and can be downloaded here.

The report gives an overview of current challenges of “Sunlight-to-X” technologies and the key R&D focus areas. It also includes key recommendations to foster development of those technologies, such as the importance of benchmarking and common standards, the need for breakthroughs in the engineering of “Sunlight-to-X” devices as well as demonstration projects. Importantly, it highlights the most pressing R&D priorities, such as catalyst engineering, systems integration, recycling, and circularity.

In November 2025, SUNERGY was also represented at an event to celebrate the 100th Hydrogen TCP ExCo (Executive Committee) at the IEA in Paris, with the participation of Ann Magnuson, Uppsala University, Frederic Chandezon, CEA (panelist at a round table) and Vincent Artero, CEA (speaker on the vision and challenges of “Sunlight-to-X” technologies) from CEA.

As an outcome of the event, the ExCo validated the proposition of lauching a new Task on “Sunlight-to-X” technologies under the umbrella of the Hydrogen TCP. The detailed content and work programme of this new Task will be defined in the coming months by an international team – including SUNERGY members – lead by Greg Metha at University of Adelaide, Australia.

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From November 25 to 27, 2024, Madrid served as the the meeting point for a global dialogue on sustainable energy solutions. Researchers, industry stakeholders and policymakers gathered for a series of events jointly organised by SUNERGY, the SUNER-C project, the Spanish FOTOFUEL network and the UK Solar Chemicals Network.

25th November: FOTOFUEL Congress and school on sustainable fuels

Held at IMDEA Energía, the FOTOFUEL Congress – School was dedicated to showcasing research and innovation in the field of solar fuels and chemicals,  with a particular emphasis on improving the efficiency of photocatalysts, hydrogen production and CO₂ utilisation.

Participants were welcomed by Víctor de la Peña O’Shea from IMDEA Energía, followed by a plenary talk by James Durrant of Imperial College London, who discussed charge separation and stabilisation in photocatalysis materials for solar-driven water splitting.

The event featured talks from leading experts in solar energy and photocatalysis from both UK’s Solar Chemicals Network and the Spanish FOTOFUEL network. Click here to check all the speakers and their presentation titles.

26th November: SUNERGY Spanish/Southern EU stakeholder event

The second day was dedicated to the SUNERGY Spanish/Southern EU Stakeholder event, which took place in Community of Madrid premises and focused on policy and industrial perspectives on renewable energy vectors. It began with welcome remarks from Víctor de la Peña O’Shea, Bert Weckhuysen (Utrecht University, SUNERGY/SUNER-C coordinator) and Pedro Mora (PTECO₂).

Miriam Bueno Lorenzo, Senior Advisor at the Spanish Office of Climate Change, presented the Spanish National Plan for Energy and Climate. This was followed by a presentation from Marcos Escudero Olano, Head of the Industrial Policy Division at the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, who discussed the Net-Zero Industry Act and its implementation in Spain.

Philippe Schild, Senior Expert at the European Commission, then presented the Mission Innovation Sunlight-to-X innovation community, while Bert Weckhuysen gave an overview of the challenging requirements for a “refinery of the future”. Finally, Maximilian Fleischer from Siemens Energy shared an industrial perspective on the need for green molecules to achieve decarbonisation.

The event wrapped up with a panel discussion on the opportunities for the development of solar fuels and chemicals, featuring Bert Weckhuysen, Max Fleischer, Carlos Prieto (Moeve), and Miguel Ángel Hernando (Track – Técnicas Reunidas).

The afternoon sessions transitioned into a more focused setting, with SUNER-C partners convening for their 5th Consortium Meeting in close collaboration with the UK Solar Chemicals Network. These discussions included updates on the progress of the SUNER-C project, developments within work packages and planning for upcoming deliverables. The session also featured the “SUNERGY Beyond SUNER-C” workshop,  during which participants explored new ideas and mapped future collaboration strategies in breakout groups, reinforcing the network’s commitment to ensuring continued progress and innovation in the future.

The highlight of the meeting was a keynote presentation by Professor Erwin Reisner from the University of Cambridge, on “Integrated Solar Fuels Devices for Sustainable Chemical Industries.”

27th November: UK-SCN x SUNERGY x MI workshop

The UK-Solar Chemicals Network x SUNERGY x Mission Innovation workshop provided a platform for members of these communities and networks to align efforts across Europe, the United Kingdom and the international stage, highlighting how initiatives like SUNER-C can contribute to advancing and scaling solar fuels technology.

Frédéric Chandezon (CEA) gave a presentation on existint and future funding prospects in the field of solar fuels and chemicals within Horizon Europe, offering guidance on how researchers and institutions can leverage them. The event also featured early career researcher pitches, offering scientists from universities and research institutions from the UK and Europe a platform to share their innovative ideas and current projects, with the aim to build consortia that will reinforce the links between the UK and EU innovation communities in this field.

To conclude, Bill Tumas (NREL) moderated a panel discussion focused on identifying remaining gaps in technology, funding and policy beyond the current opportunities for Solar-to-X technologies.

The three-day series of events highlighted the importance of collaboration between research, policy, industry and society as a whole, to drive the development of solar fuels as a key technology for the clean energy transition.

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This two-day event addressed the integration and advancement of solar fuels and chemicals, through stakeholder pitches, breakout working sessions, policy presentations and a visit to the ArcelorMittal Steelanol plant. 

The workshop’s primary objectives were to identify and discuss industry priorities, needs, and potential contributions to the value chains of solar fuels and chemicals in Europe. The event also aimed to propose new business models, consolidate the innovation ecosystem and pave the way for the future of the SUNERGY initiative beyond the SUNER-C project.

Day 1: Setting the stage for innovation 

The workshop kicked off with an introduction by the SUNER-C coordinator, Bert Weckhuysen from Utrecht University, followed by an opening lecture by Max Fleischer from Siemens Energy. Their presentations highlighted the critical role of solar fuels and chemicals in decarbonizing industries and enhancing EU competitiveness, and introduced the concept of a “refinery of the future” in which small, abundant moelcules (instead of fossil intrants) would be transformed into chemicals and fuels using renewable energy sources.

During stakeholder pitches, 15 actors from academia and industry showcased their research or sector innovations. The first round included presentations by Babette Pettersen from LanzaTech, Pau Farràs from University of Galway, Christoph Falter from Synhelion, Janne Wallenius from SolarFoods, Marc Borghans from ING, as well as Han Huynh and Laurent Baraton from ENGIE. After a brief coffee break, the afternoon resumed with Hannah Johnson from Toyota Motor Europe, Ivan Souček from the Association of Chemical Industry of Czech Republic (SCHP CR), and Vincent Artero from CEA. These sessions were moderated by SUNER-C co-coordinator Frédéric Chandezon. 

In thematic breakout sessions participants focussed on three key topics: financial de-risking; business model development; and centralized vs decentralized applications.

To conclude the first day, Sophie Loots from Energy Cooperative ZuidtrAnt took the floor to provide insights about the ‘H₂ coop storage project’. Before the networking dinner, MyLeaf, the photovoltaic water electrolysis system brought from Leiden University, demonstrated standalone solar water splitting at the outside of the event building.

Day 2: Deepening the discussion & ArcelorMittal Steelanol plant visit 

The second day began with an opening by Anouschka Versleijen from Leiden University/Luris, who introduced the following stakeholder pitches: Eline van Berlo from SkyNRG, Esther Santos from Apria Systems, Joost Smits from Shell, Ludo Diels from VITO, Max Fleischer from Siemens Energy, and Fredericq Peigneux form Heidelberg Materials. 

The breakout sessions continued, building on the progress from the previous day. Afterwards, participants reconvened in the main auditorium where summaries of these sessions were presented by Arne Roth from Fraunhofer IGB, Ann Magnuson from Uppsala University, Max Fleischer from Siemens Energy, and Athanasios Konstandopoulos from SyNest. 

A policy session followed, moderated by Elena Guarneri from SUNERGY, featuring contributions from Philippe Schild from the European Commission’s DG RTD, – who covered R&I strategy and priorities on solar-to-X -, and Algreit Dume from DG GROW, on the transition pathways for the European chemical industry. Huub de Groot from Leiden University delivered the closing remarks, emphasizing collaborative efforts and stressing the ongoing need for dialogue and innovation in this critical sector. 

Participants then visited one of the highlights of the workshop: the ArcelorMittal Steelanol plant, where they witnessed firsthand the integration of innovative technologies in industrial settings. This site visit underscored the practical applications and potential of sustainable fuels and chemicals in driving sustainable industrial processes. 

Over this two-day event, participants had the opportunity to consider the challenges and opportunities that come with the perspective of re-evaluating the way that our societies produce and consume the chemicals and fuels needed for its functioning. From the visionary presentations which explored what our distant future could look like, to a visit of a pilot plant that gives us a glimpse of that future and through the down-to earth considerations explored in breakout sessions, this workshop gathered a wide diversity of stakeholders and is already furthering discussions on how to enact a just and sustainable transition away from fossil fuels as energy sources.

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June 4-5, 2024 | EnergyVille in Genk, Belgium.

The SUNERGY initiative and the EU-funded SUNER-C project co-organized the event “Harnessing Renewables for a Sustainable Future – Exploring CCU, Power-to-X and Solar-to-X Innovations”. This event was co-organized together with the European Commission, the European Innovation Council, IMEC, EuroTech Universities Alliance, and the EU projects CATART, CONDOR and FlowPhotoChem.

Following the European Innovation Council’s €24 million challenge announced in December 2023 to advance solar-to-X technologies, this two-day event brought together key stakeholders to discuss innovations for creating fossil-free products like renewable hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, and green fertilizers. The EIC challenge aims to develop devices at the prototype level, to establish metrics for a fair benchmarking and to explore underlying phenomena by means of computational materials science.

Image 1 – Han Huynh and Frédéric Chandezon presenting “SUNERGY and its Technological Roadmap: Solar-to-X in a nutshell”

The event joined speakers and panelists related with the solar-to-X topic, from different perspectives, arousing interesting discussions among participants. SUNER-C partners played a prominent role throughout the conference, delivering various speeches. Kristof Verbeek, from ArcelorMittal Belgium, presented a pitch introducing ‘The Steelanol demonstration plant’ as an example of a technological solution in development.

Nicola Armaroli, a member of SUNER-C’s international advisory board, delivered a keynote speech on the current status and future challenges of converting sunlight to molecules. Armaroli underscored the significance of solar energy and direct solar fuels for the EU’s future clean energy needs while noting the continued requirement for significant research and innovation. In the same session, Muriel Matheron from CEA presented a speech on the “EASIFUEL prototype,” a finalist for the EIC Horizon Prize on Artificial Photosynthesis.

On the second day, Han Huynh from ENGIE and Frédéric Chandezon from CEA discussed the advances towards the SUNERGY’s technological roadmap, one of the main outcomes from the SUNER-C project, during the “Devices of Tomorrow” session chaired by Carina Faber from EIC.

This talk was followed by the “Which technology will meet its expectations” session which addressed fair benchmarking and standards, with Joachim John from IMEC as panel chair and Moritz Schreiber from TotalEnergies as one of the thematic speakers who discussed the main technical challenges of industrial CO₂ electroreduction to ethylene.

Image 2 – Maximilian Fleischer presenting a keynote speech on “The need for green molecules for a sustainable economy”

Finally, in the context of the “Outlook: What else is needed? Insights from industry and governmental initiatives” session, Maximilian Fleischer from Siemens and Eric De Coninck from ArcelorMittal highlighted the necessity of green molecules for a sustainable economy and emphasized the importance of policy support for industrial CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilization). De Coninck stressed the need for a revision of EU policy to ensure the success of industrial CCU projects.

The event also included remarks that highlighted the European Innovation Council’s goals for solar-to-X technologies. Sessions covered societal challenges and deep tech solutions, with speakers from the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education and the European Commission.

Breakout sessions focused on techno-sustainability assessments and advancing technologies from research to manufacturing stages. There was also a panel on fundraising strategies for scaling up solar-to-X innovations, moderated by Francesco Matteucci from the European Innovation Council.

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The paper, titled “The refinery of the future,” is co-authored by Bert Weckhuysen and Eelco Vogt, from Utrecht University. This article, in which made the cover of Nature in May, emphasizes the need to replace traditional crude oil processes with renewable energy-powered methods.

Oil refineries produce fuels and materials essential to modern life, from transportation fuels to everyday consumer products. Weckhuysen and Vogt’s paper details a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing these facilities by integrating renewable energy sources and innovative technologies like CO₂ capture, hydrogen electrolysis and producing chemicals and synthetic fuels from biomass or recycled plastics.

The transition, though costly—estimated at €320-520 billion annually until 2050 to replace all EU refineries —requires urgent policy and industry action to mitigate climate impact and ensure sustainable economic development. Coordinated efforts from researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders are needed to overcome technological and economic challenges.

The perspective, which has been also highlighted as an editorial article in “Nature News”, underscores the massive renewable energy requirements for these future refineries and the importance of creating resilient systems that can handle energy fluctuations inherent to renewable sources. The authors stress that achieving these ambitious goals by 2050 will necessitate significant investment and policy shifts, including carbon taxes and the elimination of fossil-fuel subsidies.

Read the full paper and editorial article on Nature and Nature News.

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The first day began with a warm welcome from the SUNER-C Coordinator and Professor, Bert Weckhuysen, at the Speelklok Museum. Following that, Nathan Coutard, SUNER-C Project Manager, presented some context around a funding opportunity: the EIC Solar-to-X Pathfinder Challenge. The first part of the meeting ended with the WP updates and preparing for working sessions of day 2.

SUNER-C partners had the privilege to host Philippe Jacques (EMIRI/Syensqo), Managing Director of the Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative (EMIRI) and SUNER-C International Advisory Board Member, sharing insights about the path to a successful partnership, and discussing the experience of the “Innovative Materials for EU” (proposed public-private partnership under Horizon Europe, starting in 2025).

During the presentation, Dr. Jacques shared insights into EMIRI’s journey towards a partnership, which began in 2012 with self-funded efforts. Key highlights included a Manifesto in 2021, signed by industry and RTOs, the involvement in the Batteries European Partnership Association and crucial support from the European Commission. He also emphasized as a key strategy for collective advancement the importance of industry-relevant KPIs for advocacy, having a clear positioning, creating a strong community engagement and continuously collaborating with other initiatives. In addition, Philippe Jacques emphasized that all this requires a long lasting effort – therefore, it’s key to build on SUNERGY work so far to develop the community further, towards a possible future partnership or another large scale initiative.

The day concluded with an enlightening presentation by Katrin Arning, Assistant Professor for Risk Perception and Communication at RWTH Aachen University and SUNER-C International Advisory Board Member, presenting “Sunlight and Shadows: Risk perception, acceptance, and communication of Sustainable Aviation Fuels”. Prof. Arning discussed societal acceptance, highlighting its different dimensions and the crucial role of understanding four key aspects of risk perception: subjectivity, interpersonal differences, complexity, and context specificity. To assess risk perception effectively, a comprehensive measurement framework involving both qualitative and quantitative methods is necessary. Shockingly, only a small percentage of respondents are aware of CCUS, leading to inadequate understanding and overestimation of risks among the public.

The second day took place at Utrecht University, with discussions focusing on the progress of specific project topics and planned future actions. SUNER-C partners also visited laboratories showcasing the research happening at Utrecht University.

The consortium meeting concluded with a conversation on societal and cross-cutting issues in sustainable fuels & chemicals technology groups, moderated and organized by Dr. Kasper Ampe (Ghent University), Prof. Dr. Joeri Wesseling (Utrecht University) and Tycho van Hauwaert (Flemish Environmental Movement). The panel included Joanna Kargul, Professor at Warsaw University (WU), Han Huynh, CCUS Domain Manager at ENGIE, Joachim John, Senior Project Manager at imec, Ann Magnuson, Professor at Uppsala University (UppU), and Martin Roeb, Scientist at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and SUNER-C International Advisory Board Member.

The discussion focused on the (renewable) energy, critical raw materials and carbon required to produce sustainable fuels, the proposed technologies and their relation to the energy system, the place where sustainable fuels are produced, who gets to use sustainable fuels and who decides what when and how about sustainable fuels technology development.

We’re grateful for the engaging discussions, valuable insights, and collaborative spirit that marked the 4th SUNER-C Consortium Meeting. Looking forward to implementing the ideas and strategies discussed during the meeting as we continue to drive innovation in the field of sustainable fuels and chemicals.

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The objective was to facilitate an open dialogue on the role of sustainable fuels, involving industry, research, academia, players bringing the societal perspective and representatives of the European Commission (DG Research & Innovation and DG Mobility & Transport).

Recent EU regulations have set clear targets that foster the demand and call for an accelerated development of sustainable fuels and related technologies.  What is needed to reach these targets and accelerate progress, investments and cooperation in this field, including at the R&I level? What are the opportunities and challenges in the development of sustainable fuels in the EU and their role and complementarity in relation to other technology solutions? 

Participants converged on the idea that a transition is happening and no technology solution should be favoured,  but we need a mix of complementary technologies for different sectors and applications, always keeping the end users in mind and avoiding competition between renewable industries. Sustainable fuels are part of the mix: they are a reality and a needed  element – not just a “niche” application – and can be a game changer for the EU’s energy mix, particularly for hard-to-abate sectors, such as aviation, maritime and long-distance and heavy-duty transport, where defossilization cannot be achieved solely through electrification. Additionnally, the technology and knowledge for sustainable fuels can be potentialized in furthering the manufacture of commodity chemicals in energy-intensive industries (e.g. cement, steel, glass, chemical). Sustainable fuels, as energy stored under chemical form, are also complementary – and not competing – with other storage technologies (including batteries) to cope with the intermittency of renewable energies.  A big advantage of sustainable fuels consists on the fact that they can benefit from existing infrastructures, a factor that helps market penetration, limits costs and contributes to EU’s energy independency and sovereignty.

As highlighted by Jan Mertens, Chief Science Officer at ENGIE and also involved in SUNERGY and SUNER-C: “We need different technologies and molecules for different applications. Molecules – other than hydrogen – will be needed for processes where energy density is crucial, e.g. in industry, aviation, shipping, long term storage of energy, transport of energy over long distances. The EU is leading on the topic, from R&D over pilot to demo, but more effort and closer collaboration between academia and industry are needed to keep this lead.”

Industry is investing in this field in Europe, together with research, to develop different technological routes, with different timeframes and maturity levels: some are delivering now or are about to deliver, with pilot projects and plants – e.g. the 200M€, partly H2020-funded Steelanol plant in Belgium, inaugurated in December 2022 and expected to produce 80 million liters of advanced bio-ethanol yearly from CO₂ emissions captured from the Arcelor Mittal Ghent foundry. In parallel,  we need to develop new generation technologies and more disruptive routes – e.g. for direct production of solar fuels from solar energy, which are expected to lead to a partially decentralized production by 2030.

The way forward
Currently there are considerable investments and a large number of projects on sustainable fuels in Europe, both at national and EU level. However, industry and research participants emphasised that current effort is scattered and we need a consistent framework to accelerate progress in the field, supporting integration along the value chain and across different dimensions – research, innovation, economic, political and social – and considering key issues such as: at which conditions can sustainable fuels become cost-effective? What’s needed in terms of jobs, re-education of workers? How can we balance different interests in the transition?

As stated by Gabriele Centi (Professor at University of Messina, President of the European Research Institute of Catalysis and SUNER-C member): “It’s clear that achieving the EU targets requires the inclusion of molecules and sustainable fuels. Simply extrapolating our current trajectory will not be enough: we need an acceleration, a decisive shift in the approach to successfully reach our goals.”

A dedicated EU large-scale R&I initiative on sustainable fuels would support this effort in a broader perspective – not only in the mobility sector but also on energy for process industry, and linking to chemicals -, complementing and working together with existing EU initiatives and partnerships.  A dialogue on sustainable fuels in the EU needs to continue, involving all actors and dimensions, towards a common objective.

STRATEGIC R&I AGENDA: https://sunergy-initiative.eu/resources/strategic-ri-agenda/
INDUSTRY ENDORSEMENT LETTER: https://sunergy-initiative.eu/industry/

[1] (Coordination & Support Action funded by Horizon Europe, Grant Agreement No. 101058481).

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Member of Suner-C IAB, Prof. James Durrant, recognized for his pioneering work in developing renewable and low-cost energy technologies.

March 21th 2023

Professor James Durrant, a member of the Suner-C International Advisory Board, has been awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his remarkable contribution to photochemistry and solar energy research. Princess Anne presented the award to him last week.

Prof. Durrant is the Director of Imperial’s Centre for Processable Electronics (CPE) and he is a renowned researcher in the field of photochemistry and solar energy research, dedicating his work to the development of renewable and low-cost energy technologies, a crucial scientific challenge for the 21st century.

His team focuses on developing new chemical approaches to solar energy conversion to produce electricity (photovoltaics) or molecular fuels, such as hydrogen. They also tackle the related challenge of electrocatalytic fuel synthesis. By combining fundamental optical studies into light-driven reactions with materials and device design, Prof. Durrant’s team creates design principles that guide technological development.

In addition to his work at the Imperial College, Prof. Durrant has been involved in several European projects such as the A-LEAF. The A-LEAF project had the goal to determine experimentally and theoretically the main parameters for optimization of the chemical transformations at surfaces to combine water and CO2 into oxygen and energy-rich chemicals.

We would like to extend our congratulations to Professor Durrant on receiving this award for his outstanding contributions to photochemistry and solar energy research. It is a testament to his remarkable achievements, and we are honored to work alongside him in the pursuit of renewable energy solutions.

Prof. James Durrant gave a presentation at the SUNER-C 2nd Consortium Meeting

The Order of the British Empire was established in 1917 by King George V to honour those who had served in a non-combative role. The Order has since expanded to reward contributions to the Arts, Sciences, Charitable work and Public Service.

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SUNERGY Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda

Dec 20, 2022 | News, SUNERGY

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