The transition to sustainable energy sources requires new materials; materials to store or release energy efficiently, for example, or to convert energy from warmth or chemical energy into electricity. The studies to be carried out in the Mat4Sus programme will take important steps forward in the development of materials that are cost-effective, long-lasting and can contribute to our supply of energy in a clean manner.

Two Mat4Sus projects involve HIMS researchers:

Fuel from a greenhouse gas 

Jarl Ivar van der Vlugt (UvA/HIMS), Joost Reek (UvA/JHIMS), Dennis Hetterscheid (UL), Stefiana Grecea (UvA/HIMS), Partners: Leiden University, ECN 
Carbon dioxide is an unwanted and useless product in our current society. The researchers want to develop new catalytic materials that can convert CO2 into liquid fuels. In order to make this conversion and the required materials as sustainable as possible, the team from Amsterdam and Leiden will use cheap materials, such as iron, as catalysts and make use of sunlight and renewable electricity. The ultimate goal is a first prototype of a real ‘device’ that converts water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and CO, an ideal starting material for the synthesis of high-energy fuels.

New materials for safe and long-lasting batteries

Petra de Jongh (UU), Moniek Tromp (UvA/HIMS), Peter Ngene (UU), Partners: University of Amsterdam
This project is about the development of new solid electrolyte materials to arrive at a new generation of lithium-ion batteries that not only store more energy but are also safer and last longer.

The Materials for Sustainability programme is the first step in the development of a larger scale materials programme for the Netherlands. Through its contribution to the top sectors Energy, Hi-Tech Systems and Materials (HTSM) and Chemistry for 2018-2019, the NWO offers a broad range of financing options for materials research under the title ‘Materialen NL'. It allows for public-private collaboration as well as fundamental research.