On 5 December, the Sulphurreal 15-month project review meeting was held online, bringing representatives from all project partners and the Programme Officer to the virtual table. The funding programme EIC Pathfinder was represented by Nikolaos Stergiannis and by four experts in the field of chemistry, physics, process engineering and innovation commercialisation potential.

The SULPHURREAL project presents a groundbreaking method for storing renewable energy over a long period of time: It utilizes concentrated solar thermal energy to convert sulphuric acid into sulphur. The energy stored in the sulphur can be released on demand as heat, with sulphur thus serving as a fuel to power gas turbines and generate electricity. The process can operate in a closed cycle, regenerating the sulphuric acid by recirculating sulphur-containing combustion gases like sulphur dioxide without releasing them into the atmosphere.

In this milestone meeting representatives from the project participants reported on the progress made during the first 12 months of the project and gave an outlook to the next steps. The morning session was dedicated to technical updates, showcasing the significant strides we’ve made in advancing the innovative steps of the Sulphurreal cycle. In the afternoon, the focus shifted to project management themes like dissemination & communication and data management within the project. Another presentation highlighted the project’s technical innovations and their transfer potential to industrial applications.

A discussion, the evaluation by the expert and a summary by the project officer concluded the long and rich meeting. We would like to thank Nikolaos Stergiannis and the four experts who acted as evaluators on behalf of the EU EIC. We truly valued the opportunity to exchange ideas with you and are grateful for the valuable feedback you’ve shared with us.

We are very content with the outcome of this review meeting and look forward to the work ahead of us in the coming two years!