On April 23, the 30-month meeting of the Sulphurreal project took place at Trinity College in Dublin (TCD), Ireland. Project participants gathered to discuss recent progress and exchange updates across the consortium’s different research activities. With only six months remaining until the completion of the project, the meeting provided an important opportunity to coordinate the final stages of the ongoing work. The discussions were highly productive and valuable for planning the next steps.
Sulphurreal project enters final phase
Sulphurreal aims to develop innovative approaches for large-scale renewable energy storage through sulphur-based thermochemical cycles and the utilisation of concentrated solar energy. As the project enters its final phase, particular attention is being given to reactor development, catalyst optimisation, system integration, and techno-economic assessment.
Current activities include:
- Development of sulphur trioxide splitting catalyst structures
- Testing of the sulphur trioxide splitting reactor
- Testing of the sulphur dioxide disproportionation reactor
- Experimental characterisation of a high-power-density burner
- Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment
Visiting Laboratories of Trinity College in Dublin
Trinity College Dublin graciously hosted the meeting and provided participants with an exclusive tour of TCD’s research laboratories and facilities. The visit included several advanced thin-film deposition and materials characterisation laboratories, including one of the largest multi-purpose vacuum deposition chambers in Europe, alongside other state-of-the-art research infrastructure supporting energy materials and thin-film research. The tour concluded with visits to TCD’s historic Old Library, the Book of Kells, and the Museum Building.
Potential future collaborations
Participants also attended a seminar delivered by Dr. Brendan Bulfin from University College Cork entitled “Metal Oxide Chemical-Looping Cycles for Carbon Utilisation and Energy Storage”. The seminar sparked interesting discussions and exchange of ideas on potential future collaborations.
The consortium is proud of the significant progress achieved so far in the joint effort towards the direct storage of concentrated solar energy in solid elemental sulphur and looks forward to the successful completion of the project and its final outcomes.
Find out more about the consortium here.
Find out more about the project here.