In a drive to speed up the development of new catalysts, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has received funding of $2.77 million to support the launch of the Accelerated Catalyst Design Foundry (ACDF).
Catalysts have a crucial role in the production of many everyday products, from plastics to fertilisers to personal care. But discovery, development and commercialisation of a new catalyst can take decades. The aim of the ACDF is to change this with the use of AI and automated laboratories to replace the trial-and-error process and cut the time from discovery to commercialisation down to five years or less.
The collaborative project will bring together experts from Johnson Matthey, the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, GTI Energy and Lila Sciences.
The ACDF will focus on the development of catalysts that can turn waste materials into useful products. These waste materials include methane from biological sources, plant-based materials, food and plastic waste, and carbon dioxide captured from industrial sites. The goal, says the Argonne National Laboratory, is to turn them into raw materials for the production of chemicals and plastics.
The ACDF uses a closed approach where each round of design, testing and analysis helps guide the next one. “Our goal is a true closed-loop system where automated machines make and test catalysts, AI analyses the results instantly, and the system designs and runs the next experiments with minimal human intervention,” said Max Delferro, chemist at Argonne National Laboratory, and leader of the Catalysis group.
Argonne National Laboratory says that a major part of its effort will be the Catalysis Data Library. This is a shared resource brining together data on catalysts from experiments, computer modelling and published studies. Organising this data in way that can be used by AI will support researchers in finding promising catalyst designs, as well as selecting better test conditions and making decisions on what are the most promising routes for further investigation.
“The catalyst market itself is worth roughly $20 billion annually. Discovering catalysts that operate at higher efficiency, lower cost and lower energy demand can reap enormous benefits for society,” Delferro added.
The ACDF is one of 12 projects that is being funded by CATALCHEM-E program. With a total of $34 million in funding, the programme supports projects that pair AI with self-driving laboratories to speed development of improved catalysts for making fuels and chemicals.
Further reading:
- Johnson Matthey technology chosen for new biomethanol fuel plant
- Novel catalyst provides new route for using carbon to produce acetic acid
- What’s driving R&D? AI, sustainability and connectivity
Chemistry & Industry (C&I) magazine reports on the people, the scientific advances and the industrial innovations being harnessed to tackle society's biggest challenges. C&I covers advances in agrifood, energy, health and wellbeing, materials, sustainability and environment, as well as science careers, policy and broader innovation issues. C&I’s readers are scientific researchers, business leaders, policy makers and entrepreneurs who harness science to spark innovation.
Get the latest science and innovation news every month with a subscription to Chemistry & Industry magazine. You can subscribe to C&I here.
Visit Blog