The Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation (RCGI), affiliated to the University of São Paulo, is now part of the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam – ETCA ecosystem.
The importance of RCGI’s membership at ETCA was today underlined by the presence of the outgoing Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy – Micky Adriaansens – and chair of ChemistryNL Jacqueline Vaessen.
This shows the shared commitment to environmental sustainability and the role that collaborations like this play in addressing global challenges.
The Minister signed an agreement last December with the Brazilian government to intensify collaborations in research and innovation in the field of bio-based economy and technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate Policy): “It is really promising to see how our partnership with Brazil, particularly through the Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Innovation, has the potential to make a significant impact in our quest for a greener future. It is crucial for companies like Shell to invest in research and development. This international collaboration is a fantastic example of that. Knowledge institutions and businesses are joining forces to work on sustainable technological solutions for our sustainability challenges. Collaborations like this show how important it is to work together globally to tackle the big challenges ahead of us.”
New ETCA member RCGI is at the forefront of Brazil’s commitment to environmental sustainability, engaging 600 researchers worldwide in the same mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Their strategy consists of 3 core pillars:
- Innovative research: RCGI pushes the boundaries of greenhouse gas reduction by conducting pioneering research.
- Solutions development: RCGI actively transforms its findings into actionable solutions, from technological innovations to policy recommendations and public perception and engagement.
- Knowledge Dissemination: RCGI is committed to sharing its knowledge and findings with both the scientific community and the broader public.
RCGI already has ongoing connections in the Netherlands with renowned institutes such as TNO and the Delft University of Technology and focuses specifically on nature-based solutions; carbon capture, utilization and storage; hydrogen; biofuels; mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and advocacy which are fully aligned with ETCA’s key themes.
In addition, RCGI will host two groundbreaking pilot plants at the USP campus in Brazil, both set to launch in the second semester of 2024. The first plant is focused on producing sustainable hydrogen from ethanol, and the second plant is dedicated to the production of green methanol from biogenic CO2, contributing to the advancement of clean energy solutions.
The new partnership between RCGI and ETCA will provide further access to Dutch companies and research organizations to collaborate with RCGI. As such, RCGI truly becomes a Brazilian-Dutch partnership programme.
