SCM joins €19.3M HyFINE project to accelerate sustainable chemical synthesis

We will soon begin collaborating with other Dutch partners in the newly awarded HyFINE project, which has received €19.3 million in funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and GroenvermogenNL. The consortium aims to make the synthesis of specialty and fine chemicals more sustainable through advanced catalysis research, with a strong focus on AI/ML-driven approaches for both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in green chemistry.

By replacing fossil resources with hydrogen and green electricity (“green electrons”), chemical synthesis routes can be shorter, cleaner, and more efficient. AI/ML methods will accelerate the design of catalysts and reaction pathways, helping reduce energy consumption and waste.

HyFINE, coordinated by the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), brings together nine universities, three universities of applied sciences, three research institutes, and twenty companies. The five-year project represents a total investment of €24.2 million, including consortium co-funding and contributions from businesses and civil society organisations.

SCM is the industrial partner with the largest contribution (in cash or in kind) and is active in both main technical research areas: synthesising specialty and fine chemicals from bio- and waste-based feedstocks, and from platform molecules.Within HyFINE, we will develop AI/ML–driven simulation methods for heterogeneous catalyst design (with Dr Guanna Li, Wageningen University), improve reactivity predictions in homogeneous catalysts using automated solvent-aware microkinetic modelling (with Dr Ivo Filot, TU/e), and apply AI/ML for catalyst optimisation (with Prof. Evgeny Pidko, TU Delft). These efforts will accelerate catalyst development and support greener, more sustainable chemical processes.