Biofuels produced from algae constitute an outstanding alternative to replace conventional fossil fuels and diversify sustainable energy sources. Because solar energy and atmospheric carbon dioxide are the direct energy and carbon source for biofuel production, no additional carbon dioxide is released to the environment when burning these fuels. Therefore, algae based biofuel production processes are a match for circular economy and are characterised by industrial sustainability. In order to facilitate the commercialisation of environmentally friendly biofuels, this proposal aims to determine the sustainable excretable biofuels production process routes for transportation energy supply. In particular, three excretable biofuels, biohydrogen (clean transport fuel), biobutanol (replacement of gasoline) and biohydrocarbon (alternative of diesel), will be selected due to their estimated huge global demand in near future. Throughout this project, advanced bioprocess simulation and optimisation methodologies for the economic and environmental assessment of excretable biofuels will be constructed to resolve this challenge. Moreover, the strategies developed in my proposed research can be applied not only to biofuel production, but also to other future bioprocesses.

The overarching objective of FACE-IT is to enable adaptive co-management of social-ecological fjord systems in the Arctic in the face of rapid cryosphere and biodiversity changes. The project will identify ways to manage the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere and marine biodiversity, and the interaction with other drivers of change. FACE-IT will contribute to IPCC assessments as well as key Sustainable Development Goals. The concept of FACE-IT rests on a comparison of selected Arctic fjord systems at different stage of cryosphere loss in Greenland, Svalbard and Finnmark, Northern Norway. The underlying two-pronged hypothesis is that the biodiversity of Arctic coastal zones is changing in accordance with the rates of cryosphere changes, and that these changes affect local communities, food production, livelihoods and other ecosystem services. FACE-IT approaches European Arctic fjords as local social-ecological systems. It gathers a strong interdisciplinary team of internationally recognised experts from both natural and social sciences. FACE-IT is organized in eight interdisciplinary work packages focusing on the drivers of change (WP1), their effects on biodiversity (WP2), ecosystem functioning (WP3), food provision and indigenous livelihoods (WP4), nature-based tourism (WP5), the co-production of knowledge to identify governance strategies for adaptive co-management (WP6), and public outreach and policy input (WP7), and project management (WP8). It includes the participation of Arctic stakeholders to ensure that Indigenous and local knowledges, perceptions and concerns about ongoing changes are taken into account in defining innovative and adaptive co-management approaches towards a more sustainable future. In this way FACE-IT will deliver significant contributions towards the implementation of the new integrated EU policy for the Arctic.

GHG emissions reduction policies to mitigate the alarming climate change can impact carbon-intensive industrial sectors, leading to loss of employment and competitiveness. Current multistage CCU technologies using renewable electricity to yield fuels suffer from low energy efficiency and require large CAPEX. eCOCO2 combines smart molecular catalysis and process intensification to bring out a novel efficient, flexible and scalable CCU technology. The project aims to set up a CO2 conversion process using renewable electricity and water steam to directly produce synthetic jet fuels with balanced hydrocarbon distribution (paraffin, olefins and aromatics) to meet the stringent specifications in aviation. The CO2 converter consists of a tailor-made multifunctional catalyst integrated in a co-ionic electrochemical cell that enables to in-situ realise electrolysis and water removal from hydrocarbon synthesis reaction. This intensified process can lead to breakthrough product yield and efficiency for chemical energy storage from electricity, specifically CO2 per-pass conversion > 85%, energy efficiency > 85% and net specific demand 250 g of jet fuel per day in an existing modular prototype rig that integrates 18 tubular intensified electrochemical reactors. Studies on societal perception and acceptance will be carried out across several European regions. The consortium counts on academic partners with the highest world-wide excellence and exceptional industrial partners with three major actors in the most CO2-emmiting sectors.

In this proposal we investigate different aspects of superconductivity with the ultimate goal of finding novel ways - that can be tested experimentally - to increase substantially the critical temperature (Tc) of a superconductor/superfluid. Motivated by recent experimental advances in cold atom, manipulation of nanostructures and theoretical advances in high energy physics, we propose to achieve this goal by studying: 1) finite size effects in different models of high Tc superconductivity both theoretically and experimentally, 2) superconductivity in systems that do not thermalize, 3) superconductivity induced in systems with Efimov states (three particles bound states that occur in situations in which the two body interaction does not lead to bound states). In relation to 1) we aim a description, mostly analytical, of finite size effects in different mean field descriptions of high Tc superconductor. Then, for the models leading to a highest Tc's we plan to carry out a more refined theoretical analysis whose results can be used to describe superconductivity in realistic systems. Finally, in collaboration with experimentalists,we aim to chose the materials and parameters (size, grain shape...) most suitable for experimental studies, show experimentally that the critical temperature can be substantially (>15%) increased and propose technological applications. In relation to 2) we first provide a quantitative description of the stability of the equivalent of a Cooper's trimer in many body systems described by Efimov physics. Then we explore the feasibility of ground states based on a collection of Efimov states by using Monte Carlo techniques. If successful, we aim to describe quantitatively the resulting superconducting state andits stability to thermal fluctuations.In relation to 3) we first address the role of Anderson-Mott localization effects in the route to thermalization in a closed many body system by using exact diagonalization techniques, random matrix theory and the finite size scaling method. Based on these results we put forward a characterization of thermalization in closed many body systems. Finally we investigate superconductivity in systems that do not thermalize. Specifically we aim to identify the non-thermal quasiparticle distribution that enhances Tc the most.A fully theoretical/analytical descritption of these systems is challenging since many of them are strongly interacting. In high energy physics the Anti de Sitter (AdS) - conformal field theory (CFT) correspondence, provides, in certain cases a theoretical framework to tackle these problems. In relation with this problem we explore to what extent this technique provides a really quantitative description of quantum critical points and certain aspects of high temperature superconductivity.