24 June 2011, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences (SARI-CAS), Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell) and Shanxi Lu’An Group (Lu’An) signed an agreement to jointly demonstrate a novel “dry reforming” catalyst that can be used to produce syngas, the key raw material for a wide range of chemical products and fuels, by methane-CO2 mixture.

This agreement was developed on the basis of a joint R&D programme run by Shell and Institute of Coal Chemistry of Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICC-CAS) during years 2008 to 2011. The researchers studied the conversion of syngas to higher alcohols, when they saw a mixture of CO2 and methane as side-products.

By introducing this new “dry reforming” catalyst, which applied nanotechnology, the joint research team recycled these side-products to produce syngas again. The catalyst remained active for a prolonged period of time, which made it commercially attractive by increasing carbon efficiency during the production process.

In the tri-lateral agreement, this novel technology will undergo a pilot test at a commercial site of Lu’An, before it can be made available to the market.

After the ceremony, Dr. Gerald Schotman made a presentation entitled “Taking the Industry to the Next Level”, and Prof. SUN Yuhan introduced Energy RD&D strategy at SARI-CAS. Participants from the three parties then continued their discussion on further possible collaborations.