From harmful waste to valuable resource: QEERI’s plans for sustainable climate solutions

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the villain of climate change, but what if we could convert this harmful greenhouse gas into useful products? Researchers from Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) have taken up the challenge of mitigating climate change with carbon capture and other clean-energy initiatives.

From renewables to water desalination to anti-corrosion strategies to carbon capture, QEERI is working on technological solutions to support Qatar’s competitiveness, diversification and sustainability. Under the umbrella of Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), QEERI contributes to the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030 and international efforts to tackle climate change.

In collaboration with national and international partners such as Imperial College London, Trinity College Dublin, University of Calgary, Georgia State University and Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, among others, QEERI’s carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) project focuses on removing excess CO₂ and recycle it for further usage. In January 2021, this project was awarded US$5M—the biggest grant under the second cycle of Qatar National Research Fund’s National Priorities Research Program Cluster Track—with an additional US$1.4M contributed from industrial partners, bringing the total project budget to $6,391,019,

“Industrial partners are making substantial financial contributions to the project, which demonstrates their commercial interest in these technologies,” says QEERI Executive Director Marc Vermeersch. “Viable, industrial-scalable carbon capture technologies are a must-have, not a nice-to-have. QEERI’s vision is to pave the way of this energy system transformation.”

Aside from capturing CO₂ emissions from power plants and energy-intensive industries, QEERI researchers aim to devise carbon absorbers that can be integrated into existing home air-conditioning units. These will trap CO₂ from the atmosphere, both indoors and outdoors.

“We aim to place Qatar at the forefront of direct CO₂ capture technologies embedded in air-conditioning systems. We are focusing on technologies that are economically viable, so they can be scaled up and exported,” explains Veronica Bermudez Benito, senior research director of QEERI Energy Centre.

The multidisciplinary team plans to transfer the captured CO₂ to transformation units and then use it in greenhouses to improve crop yields, or convert it into valuable products. These depend on CO₂ trapping technologies including mineralisation or electrochemical reduction. QEERI researchers are also working on novel catalysts and materials for CO₂ electrochemical or photoelectrochemical reduction, which can derive economically valuable chemicals, such as formic acid, carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen and ethanol. In addition, the team is working on ways to improve CO₂ chemical absorption methods, which are used to remove acid gases, the primary cause of corrosion in natural gas pipes.

“Everything we do at QEERI is geared toward a more sustainable future. Sustainability and circular economy are the bread and butter of our Institute,” says Vermeersch, adding that the institute has set in motion a variety of other sustainability initiatives related to air quality monitoring, electric buses, water conservation, anti-corrosion technologies, solar energy adoption and the possible expansion of the 800MW Siraj-1 solar power plant in Al Kharsaah, which could provide 10 to 15% of Qatar’s total power generation capacity.

Researchers at QEERI and NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory have launched the Orbiting Arid Subsurface and Ice Sheet Sounder (OASIS) feasibility study project, to discover sources of fresh water hidden under the desert and monitor the sea level rise in the Gulf region. QEERI experts also inform ministries and policy-makers on the environmental and human impact of pollution, and are collaborating with FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 organisers to achieve a carbon-neutral tournament.