SOMMER Project

In the SOMMER research project, science and industry collaborate closely to develop a sustainable technology for converting CO2 and water into syngas, a raw material for many chemical products. The innovation from SOMMER: Heat from concentrated sunlight is used directly as an energy source to drive chemical reactions in a reactor. A special membrane makes it possible to reduce the required heat input from above 2,500 °C to below 1,500 °C. The advantage of the SOMMER process compared to electrolysis using green electricity to split CO2 and water is that the process itself does not require any electricity. As heat can be stored at low cost for several hours, e.g. during night times, the process can be powered by solar energy 24/7. The core components of this solar technology come from European companies making it a resilient technology. The companies involved in the project - hte, BASF, TITAN and Haldenwanger – share their expertise to support the upscaling of the technology so that it can be transferred from research to industry as quickly as possible. The project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Imprint: https://www.dlr.de/de/service/impressum Privacy Policy: https://www.dlr.de/de/service/datenschutz