We are excited to announce a new collaboration with Captivate Technology (“Captivate”) to scale-up the production of a steam-stable metal-organic framework (“MOF”) named MUF-16.
Developed by Captivate, a spin-out from Massey University in New Zealand, MUF-16 is an exciting new MOF structure that is extremely well suited for large-scale carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) projects. Not only is MUF-16 highly selective for carbon dioxide (CO2) versus nitrogen and methane, but it is also steam tolerant, broadening the range of applications where MOF-based CCS can be deployed.
For the past 18 months, Promethean has rapidly demonstrated the benefits of MOF-based carbon capture at increasing levels of scale and sophistication via a range of different collaborations with emitters and process engineering specialists. This work led to the establishment of a core range of promising MOF materials.
Having recently applied for patents on the use of MUF-16 in carbon capture applications, Captivate reached out to see if the Promethean team and their proprietary continuous flow manufacturing capabilities could help scale MUF-16 faster and to the scale and cost position necessary to establish MUF-16 as part of this core range. Following initial discussions, the R&D team at Promethean quickly translated the synthesis from batch to continuous flow, thus unlocking the potential for this novel sorbent. The upscaling of MUF-16 is now underway to enable its utilisation within a series of upcoming industrial collaborations being led by Promethean.
“The Promethean team have once again showed their skill and agility to quickly translate a MOF that was first produced via batch methods to our continuous flow manufacturing process,” said James Stephenson, Chief Executive Officer of Promethean. “MUF-16 could be a great MOF for a broad range of CCS applications and especially where process steam is available. Several customers have enquired about steam-stable MOFs and MUF-16 will be a great addition to our core portfolio. We look forward to working with Shane and his team as we progress this exciting opportunity.”
The first stage of the collaboration was to determine if MUF-16 could be produced in continuous flow. With this already successfully resolved, the next steps are to manufacture increasing quantities of material and deploy it in a number of trials. The parties have also agreed the commercial framework and access rights.
Professor Shane Telfer, Massey University professor and Chief Executive Officer of Captivate, said, “At Captivate, we see MOF-based carbon capture as one of the key next-generation technologies in the fight against climate change. To be successful, MOFs will need to be produced in large quantities and at a cost point that allows them to compete effectively with other approaches. Promethean’s unique synthesis method opens those doors for MUF-16 and other MOFs. Their continuous flow manufacturing process enables a scalable and low-cost method of production. As an early-phase start-up, this collaboration allows us to expand the reach of MUF-16 into Promethean’s rapidly growing customer base of large-scale emitters, engineering and design firms, and specialist carbon capture companies.”