One of the greatest challenges we are facing in the 21st century is our ability to provide sustainable energy sources to meet the demands for quality of life and economic growth. As most of the energy today is provided from fossil fuels, huge amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are emitted to the atmosphere, with negative effects on the environment.
Addressing this energy challenge should cover supply and demand, security, and environmental concerns. Aligned with the concept of sustainable development, two of the proposed technologies to mitigate CO2 and other greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere, while keeping the energy demand and security of supply, are to produce clean energy from fossil fuels by capturing the produced CO2 before it is emitted into the atmosphere, and to use H2 as a clean energy carrier.
However, the processes of carbon capture and conversion and H2 production need to become more efficient and less costly, the feasibility of a 100% hydrogen network needs to be demonstrated, and long-term storage facilities are missing.
Research to find new materials with the desired properties and novel, efficient and clean processes are needed to address these challenges. In addition, there is a plethora of possible sustainable uses of the captured CO2 to be investigated and applied, making the capture process more attractive from a final user perspective.
The Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and H2 (known as the RICH Center) is established to address these challenges, contributing to the launch of clean, sustainable energy, from a scientific and technical perspective, building upon complementary expertise of researchers at Khalifa University and supported by highly reputed local and international companies and organizations.
We aim to become a world-leading center of excellence in the use of combined modeling-experimental approaches for research and development of novel materials and technologies for CO2 capture and utilization as well as H2 production, storage and distribution.
We also aim to engage in cutting-edge research, development, technology transfer and awareness in CO2 and H2, and sharing this expertise from the UAE to the rest of the world, by fostering innovation and multidisciplinary collaborations and knowledge exchange. Such activity would serve the UAE and the world in the Mission Innovation challenges defined by the Paris agreement, addressing industrial needs, educating highly skilled scientists and engineers, and aiding the society in the search for clean energy and sustainable products.
If you would like to know more about our center, or you are searching for scientific/technical collaborations, product development or further knowledge in these fields, please, do not hesitate to contact us. We are always willing to expand our capabilities, share our knowledge, and foster new relationships.
