An Italian Company developing biomass gasification technology is looking for partners specialized in gas fermentation technology

Short summary An Italian Company developing biomass gasification technology is looking for partners specialized in gas fermentation technology to test jointly the conversion of renewable syngas to added value renewable products, such as chemical building blocks, biofuels or biofertilizers.

Full description The Company is a young startup born out of the research experience of three PhDs in the field of bioenergy and has won relevant awards, including the 2022 Italian National Innovation Award for the industrial sector. The Company is developing a fixed-bed gasification technology operated with oxygen and steam and conceived on a simple design that favors small-scale and decentralized operations. The technology can deliver a gas mixture with high hydrogen content (> 35%), nitrogen content close to zero and low hydrocarbon contamination and it enables a degree of flexibility relative to the desired product gas composition. While the company is currently engaged in TRL 4-5 testing campaigns, the team is interested to test the system in integration with a downstream microbial fermentation unit to validate the conversion of syngas to a set of added value products, that may include: 1) chemical building blocks, such as acetate and volatile fatty acids or microbial proteins; 2) biofuels, such as biomethane, bioethanol, or hydrogen; or 3) microbial compounds of interest for the agricultural sector, such as active microbial consortia with biofertilizer or biostimulant properties. The partnership could take place through EU-funded programs, such as Horizon Europe, or through other arrangements.

Advantages and innovations Contrary to conventional air gasification technology, thanks to the use of steam and oxygen the proposed solution enables producing a syngas with very limited nitrogen contamination, a feature of paramount importance in the synthesis of products like biofuels, where separation and purification efforts can contribute a large share of the overall product cost. At the same time, the solution differs from larger fluidized bed steam gasification technologies in that its operation is substantially simpler, requires limited supervision and thus suits small-scale, decentralized operations, in contexts where residual biomass materials may be available on site at low cost.

Technical Specification or Expertise Sought The partner needs to have experience in the development and testing of biological conversion technologies for anoxic or aerobic gases into renewable chemical building blocks or renewable products such as biochemicals, bioplastics precursors, biofuels, biofertilizers, or others.
Contact / source: NEXT EEN Widgets (europa.eu)