Oct 12, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

MOF Technologies: MOFs Could Tackle Global Warming in New Collaborative Project

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs), which have been described as a “miracle material”, could be deployed to stop harmful gases before they reach the atmosphere, according to research from a Belfast company.

Experts have long warned of the dangers that increasing atmospheric carbon pose to the planet; from general environmental change all the way through to melting polar ice caps, floods, tsunamis. Now, a collaboration of European Companies and Universities could be set to develop a solution.

MOFs, developed by MOF Technologies, has already been applied in a range of fields, and could be a breakthrough in tackling climate change due to its ability to store, separate and capture carbon as it is released into the air.

“This collaboration is another exciting validation of MOFs potential to address climate change,” says MOF Technologies CEO, Dr Paschal McCloskey. “It is important for us to harness the power of MOFs for large scale applications that solve real problems. The 2030 Climate and Energy Framework commits all EU member states to a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the coming years. It is hoped that this grant will expedite our efforts to put Northern Ireland on the map as a hub for MOF based innovation, and also leading players in the fight against climate change.”

Through this EU Horizon 2020 grant worth Euro 8M, a number of European Companies are working together to tackle this problem. MOF Technologies, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a key contributor to this. Metal-Organic Frameworks, or MOFs, are a so called “miracle material” that have the power to capture and store atmospheric carbon.

As part of this “Genesis” project, MOF Technologies is collaborating with partners such as Arcelormital, Cambridge Nanomaterials Technologies and various leading Universities to co-develop a solution. GENESIS project aims to develop and upscale technologies involving MOFs for CO2 capture and demonstrate their performance, durability and reliability in industrial environments.

By developing MOF based CO2 Capture Technologies this will allow CO2 to be stored, preventing its re-release into the environment – a powerful focus of those on the carbon capture agenda to tackle global warming.

For more information, please visit www.moftechnologies.com.