How energy and chemistry converge for a fossil-free future
The chemical industry must undergo a dual transformation: electrifying energy use and defossilizing carbon feedstocks. This paper, developed by ENGIEs Scientific Council, examines how energy and chemistry can converge to enable this shift. We assess the roles of biomass, recycled plastics, and CO<sub>2</sub> as sustainable carbon sources and explore the enabling potential of electrification, low-carbon hydrogen, and direct air capture. Novel process pathways and infrastructure scenarios are analyzed to highlight strategic opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration. Our findings underscore the need for coordinated investment, policy support, and alignment with renewable energy geography to achieve a resilient, fossil-free future.
Authors
- Kimberly A. Nicholas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4756-7851)
- Koenraad Debackere (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3411-0668)
- Ronnie Belmans
- Jan Mertens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9284-7310)
- Patrice Geoffron
- P. Miranda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8968-3308)
- C. Paton
- Corinne Gendron
- Carolyn Fischer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6179-1377)
- Christian Breyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7380-1816)
- Peter Verwee
- Elodie Du Fornel
- Michael E. Webber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1359-4680)
- Richard K. Lester
- Olivier Sala
- Laura Megrelis
- Alice Prudhomme
- Olivier Ledent
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Université du Québec à Montréal (CA)
- Lund University (SE)
- Ministère des Armées (FR)
- Ghent University (BE)
- Universidad Simón Bolívar (CO)
- World Bank Group (US)
- Université Paris Dauphine-PSL (FR)
- Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (FI)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- KU Leuven (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- iScience
- Published
- 2025-10-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113787
- Primary Topic
- Various Chemistry Research Topics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Chemical Industry Council
- Universiteit Utrecht
- KU Leuven
- Universiteit Gent
- Covestro