My name is Jord Haven and I work at the Institute for Chemical Technology (ITQ) of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Valencia. I successfully defended my PhD dissertation in the field of Chemical and Process Engineering earlier this year at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Afterwards, I moved to Spain to start working as a researcher at ITQ. My role in the E-TANDEM project focuses on the techno-economic assessment of the 1 MW demonstration facility in Work Package 5.
What was your original motivation to become a researcher?
During my Chemical Engineering BSc and MSc studies I was intrigued by explaining process scale observations using molecular scale materials science knowledge. In particular, the research fields about membranes and catalysis perfectly connect these different scales. In this regard, it is not surprising that my BSc research focused on membranes and my MSc research on heterogeneous catalysis. Afterwards, I was offered the opportunity to pursue my PhD on catalytic membranes for light alkane dehydrogenation, which allowed me to combine all of my research interests in one project. My PhD work consisted of detailed catalytic testing and catalyst characterization in combination with techno-economic analyses. In research projects, I generally do not only want to focus on the technological developments of innovations. I also like to make a link with the potential impact of the concerning technology on e.g. investment reductions, financial profit, and CO2 emissions. This combination allows me to set targets for future academic research in terms of e.g. catalytic performance that must be reached to make the innovative technology more profitable and/or more sustainable than the conventional alternative.
What is your (main) research area today?
At ITQ my main focus is on conducting techno-economic assessments of various innovative technologies for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. The starting point in these activities is often the design and sizing of individual process equipment using inputs from process simulations. Subsequently, investment costs can be estimated based on the equipment designs. Lastly, industrial guidelines are set out using the financial outcomes, and sensitivity analyses are applied to investigate for instance the vulnerability of the project profitability to price variations.
What is the main objective of your team in E-TANDEM?
My colleagues at CSIC primarily contribute to the development of catalysts for the conversion of e-syngas to higher alcohols and ethers in the context of Work Package 2. By contrast, my work focuses on the techno-economics of the e-fuel production concept in Work Package 5. The main aim of this latter task is to provide indications of the total capital investment and the total operating costs of the e-fuel production route targeted in the E-TANDEM project, and to compare its competitiveness with conventional and alternative sustainable fuel production pathways. Besides, this analysis will identify the main cost drivers that need to be addressed to further increase the profitability of the targeted production route.
What expertise and facilities does your team have to meet those objectives?
With a strong background in chemical and process engineering, and particularly in process plant design, we have the in-house knowhow to conduct the techno-economic assessment required to meet the objectives of the E-TANDEM project. We have further conducted techno-economic analyses in project consortia with international partners in the past, providing the experience needed to stimulate commercialization strategies in E-TANDEM.
Which aspects of your research at E-TANDEM do you believe are the most innovative and what unique opportunities does E-TANDEM offer to you and/or your organisation?
The production of e-fuels through a combination of a co-electrolysis system, a tandem reactor containing both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts, and challenging downstream separation steps, makes the E-TANDEM project highly innovative. Besides, E-TANDEM offers the opportunity to collaborate with various renown international partners and to use our knowledge to make future industrial fuel production processes more sustainable.
How do you see the future use of the E-TANDEM results and the impact of the E-TANDEM project in our daily lives?
The primary objective of particularly the techno-economic part of the E-TANDEM project is to assess the industrialization potential of the proposed innovative fuel production route and to draw up guidelines towards commercialization. Society will understand that the production of marine fuels needs to be defossilized in parallel to, for example, electrification of the car industry. The E-TANDEM project provides a promising pathway to make the production of marine fuels more sustainable, irrespective of the application as fuel for passenger ferries, cruise ships, or bulk carriers.
