A vision for green chemistry

3 questions for Bastian Etzold

In 2023, Bastian Etzold received a distinguished professorship with 5 million euros of funding. As part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, he will drive forward the development of Power to X technology at FAU.

 Prof. Etzold, what are you currently researching?

My research focuses on various ways of manufacturing chemical products and storing energy using green electricity, water and carbon dioxide from the air. We group these approaches together under the term “Power to X”.

Why are you interested in this topic?

We require energy and base products from the chemical industry in order to manufacture everyday objects, make high-tech applications possible and thus secure our standard of living. What spurs me on is the desire to make the entire process chain independent from fossil materials and to make it more sustainable and fit for the future.

Which opportunities does the distinguished professorship provide?

The distinguished professorship offers the unique opportunity for making my vision a reality without the need for individual funding applications. It means we can simultaneously carry out research on various elements from material synthesis and the development of new lab test processes up to process simulation. A further benefit is that the disciplines involved can collaborate much better with each other. In addition, the funding enables me to obtain an excellent range of equipment and instruments, including a technical highlight – a two photon 3D printer with a resolution in the submicrometer range.

Prof. Dr. Bastian Etzold studied chemistry and bioengineering at FAU and business studies at FernUniversität Hagen. He completed his doctoral degree in chemical process engineering at the University of Bayreuth in 2007 before he returned to FAU as a postdoctoral fellow. From 2010 to 2015, he was professor of catalytic materials at FAU, before becoming professor of technical chemistry at TU Darmstadt. In 2016, he was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant worth two million euros. He was appointed to the Chair of Power to X Technology at FAU in 2023.

 

This article is part of the FAU Magazin

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