Novel Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) strategies are gaining traction as possible tools for mitigating C0₂ emissions in sectors of industry and transportation which has proven difficult to convert to other sustainable sources of power. The CINEA-funded Solar Energy to Power CO₂ Reduction Towards C₂ Chemicals for Energy Storage (SOREC2) project aims to develop one such CCU technology, specifically a functional and scalable Photo-Electrochemical Cell (PEC).

The future independence of the European supply of sustainable energy and chemicals is more important now than ever. External threats and trade wars risk disrupting European supplies. In this new geo-political context, enmeshed within a sustainable transition, strategic foresight is needed. Therefore, the SOREC2 project is hosting a two-day Quadruple Helix Multi-Criteria Workshop on PECs and future applications of this technology, to explore and overcome technological, social, and environmental barriers to its development and implementation.

Research and Innovation are iterative processes. As solutions for challenges are found, new ones arise. Some challenges are solved through easy fixes or predictable steps in the development track. Others are different, more severe in their reach and consequences.

The purpose of this stakeholder workshop is to ensure that the respective societal and environmental consequences, barriers, and impacts of the SOREC2 PEC, are identified and taken into consideration in its further development.

Through, facilitated exploration of and deliberation on a range of dimensions of the novel PEC technology, stakeholders will help identify possible impacts, barriers and opportunities of PECs. These dimensions include technical, political, environmental & planning, as well as security dimensions.

The Workshop invites stakeholders from Science, Policy, Industry, and Society, in accordance with the Quadruple Helix approach to innovation.