UK chemical firm Promethean Particles has taken a major step towards helping metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) realise their potential for use in commercial applications after fulfilling its largest-ever order.
MOFs have long been hailed as a breakthrough material with potential applications across multiple industries, thanks to their exceptionally high surface areas and porous structures. These properties enable MOFs to act like molecular sponges, capable of capturing and storing a range of targeted gases. Their ability to trap carbon dioxide heralds an opportunity for new carbon capture technologies, which could help to tackle climate change. Until now, difficulties in manufacturing high quality and affordable MOFs in sufficient quantities for industrial use have limited their adoption, with many manufacturers currently only able to produce them in small batches.
This situation is changing, thanks to Promethean Particles’ proprietary continuous-flow reactors, which not only improve the throughput and cost-effectiveness of MOF production, but can also enhance reliability and consistency. Now the company has used its technology to achieve a major breakthrough by manufacturing, shipping, and delivering four tonnes of MOFs, which will be used in the development of a customer’s energy-efficient gas storage application in continental Europe.
James Stephenson, chief executive officer of Promethean Particles, said:
“There is no doubt that this four-tonne order represents the accomplishment of a major milestone in our MOF manufacturing and something our entire team is incredibly proud of. Until recently, MOFs have largely only ever been produced in the grams or kilograms scales. We have now shown that it is possible to manufacture them affordably and rapidly, at the tonnes scale, and without sacrificing the critical performance quality our customers are looking for in their applications. Our company has spent many months expanding our team and developing our production capabilities to make MOFs at this scale, and there was a great deal of excitement when the final consignment left our site.”
Earlier this month, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the scientists who developed MOFs – Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi – recognising how the materials have enormous potential for solving global challenges.
Owen Cartmell, operations manager at Promethean Particles, added:
“Industrial adoption of MOFs had been held back, mainly due to a lack of scalable manufacturing routes and, in turn, prohibitively high costs, but this is now changing. Being able to demonstrate we can deliver this large order builds confidence in our current and emerging customer base, stimulates the expansion capability of supply chains and enables the development of MOFs for wider commercial applications.”
The past 12 months have seen significant growth at Promethean Particles, following the closure of an £8 million Series A funding round led by Mercia Ventures and Aramco Ventures. The investment has been used to scale up manufacturing capacity, expand the team and demonstrate MOFs’ vital role in carbon capture and other energy-sensitive applications in support of the wider energy transition.
Picture shows: Owen Cartmell, operations manager at Promethean Particles, with two pallets of MOF product
