THUNDER
A Horizon Europe project developing a one-pot tandem process that captures CO₂ and converts it directly into green e-methanol — with ICODOS building a critical-raw-material-free membrane purification unit and leading the techno-economic assessment.
THUNDER (Innovation in e-methanol production by one-pot tandem process) is a Horizon Europe research and innovation project working on a novel route to e-methanol: capturing CO₂ and water vapour and converting them into methanol within an integrated, modular reactor concept, then purifying the product to industrial grade. The aim is a more compact, energy-efficient path to sustainable methanol for shipping, power and the chemical industry. It is early-stage research — the project is running now, not delivered.
Key Facts
Programme
Horizon Europe
Grant agreement
No. 101235287
Budget
≈ €3.99M
Timeline
2025–2029
Coordinator
Eurecat (Spain)
ICODOS role
Membrane separation unit + techno-economic lead
Purification and process engineering
ICODOS contributes in two areas. First, it is developing and testing a low-energy, critical-raw-material-free (CRM-free) membrane unit to separate methanol from water — using non-critical materials and targeting IMPCA AA-spec e-methanol purity (≥99.85%). Second, ICODOS leads the project's process engineering: techno-economic assessment, feasibility and process simulation, benchmarking THUNDER e-methanol against conventional methanol routes, and pre-basic engineering of the integrated plant concept.
CRM-free, membrane-based methanol/water separation unit — targeting IMPCA AA-spec purity (≥99.85%)
Techno-economic assessment, feasibility study and process simulation
Benchmarking against conventional methanol production
Pre-basic engineering for industrial-scale deployment
Toward cheaper, cleaner methanol
01
The one-pot tandem approach aims to combine CO₂ capture, conversion and synthesis in a single, modular system
02
CRM-free purification avoids critical raw materials, pointing toward more sustainable, scalable production
03
The project targets substantially lower emissions and energy use versus conventional methanol routes
A European research collaboration
THUNDER brings together academic and industrial partners across Europe, coordinated by Eurecat.
- Eurecat
- ICODOS
- Politecnico di Torino
- CNRS
- JORCAR
- MREF
- TU Delft
- NOVA
Funded by the European Union (Horizon Europe, Grant Agreement No. 101235287). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.