A team of engineers and scientists from Heriot-Watt University and the American University of Sharjah has moved carbon capture a step closer to large-scale reality, highlighting impactful advances to curb emissions from some of the world’s most heavily emitting industries. This work has now earned international acknowledgement through the prestigious Frontiers Planet Prize.
Announced on Earth Day, the Frontiers Planet Prize commends transformational research that shows the greatest potential to address the world’s most urgent environmental challenges. Professor Steve Griffiths, Vice Chancellor of the American University of Sharjah, who co-led the study alongside Heriot-Watt researchers, has been named the UAE’s National Champion for the Prize. The Frontiers Prize is regarded as the world’s largest prize in scientific solutions for planetary health and three global winners will be announced later this year, each receiving USD 1 million.
The award recognises the significant contribution from researchers at Heriot-Watt University to the project. The research was co-led by Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer, Deputy Principal for Global Sustainability at Heriot-Watt and Director of the UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC). The team brought together expertise in chemistry, engineering and policy to address one of the most pressing challenges in achieving net zero which is reducing emissions from hard-to-abate sectors. Working alongside Professor John M. Andresen and Dr Jeannie Ziang Yie Tan, the team assessed how cutting-edge chemistry innovations can enable carbon capture technologies to be deployed effectively at scale across a wide range of industrial environments.
Published in Nature Reviews Chemistry, their findings highlight how industrial emissions vary significantly in CO2 concentration, temperature and pressure, meaning no single solution can address all use cases. Instead, the research identifies a portfolio or emerging technologies which can be tailored to different industrial contexts.
Amongst the most promising advances are novel amine solvent blends, capable of reducing energy consumption by more than 30% and metal-organic frameworks that selectively capture CO2 with exceptionally high efficiency, or newer electro-swing technologies that operate at low temperatures using renewable electricity.
Alongside these advances, the study provides critical insights into the economics of carbon capture, showing how costs vary widely depending on CO2 concentration and identifying thermal regeneration as a major driver of operational expense in current systems. It also importantly highlights pathways to reduce these costs and accelerate deployment.
This work underscores the importance of matching technology to specific industrial application, while also pointing to long-term opportunities such as carbon mineralisation where capture CO2 is converted into solid materials for use in construction, supporting circular economy approaches.
“We are delighted to see our work recognised on the global stage by the Frontiers Planet Prize. This acknowledgment affirms the importance of collaborative research, innovation and partnerships in accelerating industrial decarbonisation and delivering meaningful impact for planetary health. Our study highlights the urgency of scaling carbon capture, and this award helps shine a global spotlight on the innovation needed to accelerate climate solutions at scale.” said Professor Maroto-Valer.
This collaboration signifies an exciting body of joint research between Heriot-Watt and international partners focused on scalable solutions for global decarbonisation, including sustainable aviation and green shipping.
The Frontiers Planet Prize is awarded annually to leading scientists addressing planetary health challenges and recognises the global impact and transformative potential of this research in enabling large scale decarbonisation.
This recognition to the Heriot-Watt team underscores the significance of international collaboration and the pivotal role that university research and innovation play in addressing the pressing issue of climate change, which also presents a major growth opportunity for this century.
