Researchers design a catalyst to produce industrial chemicals from greenhouse gases
From left to right in the photo: Jordi Sans, Carles Alemán and Marc Arnau, UPC researchers of the project
A UPC team has developed a ceramic, biocompatible catalyst that captures greenhouse gases and converts them into useful chemicals in a more sustainable and cost-effective way than current technologies. So far, it has successfully passed the pilot phase through joint projects with companies from several sectors. The technology has won the 15th UPC Research Valorisation Award, organised by the Board of Trustees with the support of Fractus and the Fractus UPC Deep Tech Hub, as the best market-ready invention.
Jan 07, 2026
Researchers Jordi Sans, Marc Arnau and Carles Alemán from the Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering - Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies (IMEM-BRT) research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), in collaboration with Pau Turón from the R&D team at B. Braun Surgical, have developed a technology based on permanently polarised hydroxyapatite, a ceramic and biocompatible material that acts as a catalyst. Its main innovation lies in capturing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and transforming them into useful chemicals like ethanol and urea, in a more sustainable and cost-efficient way than existing technologies.
Carbon dioxide is considered the main cause of global warming, so reducing emissions is both an academic challenge and a social necessity. The main problem, Sans explains, is that “it’s a very stable molecule and, without a catalyst, breaking it down requires a lot of energy. This often results in more CO2 being emitted than reduced.” The challenge, therefore, is first to find a way to break this molecule and then to rearrange it to generate other chemical or industrial products that can be reintroduced into society.
Catalysts that capture and transform this gas already exist, but they still require high pressures and extreme temperatures. Additionally, they are made of noble metals such as gold or platinum, which are very expensive, making it difficult to scale up the technology for industrial use. In contrast, permanently polarised hydroxyapatite is based on hydroxyapatite, a naturally abundant material found in our bones. Thanks to its ability to absorb CO2 emissions and its catalytic properties, it enables the chemical reaction to take place under mild conditions: at atmospheric pressure and temperatures between 9 °C and 150 °C. This versatile technology can be applied in industrial processes with significant CO2 emissions. For example, installing the catalyst at chimney outlets would reduce direct emissions into the atmosphere while allowing the recovery of products such as ethanol, which can be used as a biofuel.
According to Sans, “this is an affordable technology with no environmental impact that can transform how companies manage gaseous waste, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint while generating economic value.”
The technology has already been successfully tested at the Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE) on the Diagonal-Besòs Campus, where the research group is based, and has passed the pilot phase in joint projects with major companies. One example is the Nuclis project, funded by Acció and coordinated by Aquambiente, Circular Economy Solutions S.L.U (ACES) from the Veolia group, in which using the catalyst in an incineration plant in Mataró reduced CO2 emissions by 35%. Another case involved high conversion of this gas into different products in collaboration with VISCOFAN.
The development of this technology has resulted in eight patents, of which the UPC is either co-owner or sole owner.
Winner of the 15th UPC Research Valorisation Award
The permanently polarised hydroxyapatite technology has received the 15th Research Valorisation Award in the category of best market-ready invention for its high social and economic impact and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Organised by the UPC’s Board of Trustees and endowed with a total of €15,000 (€5,000 per category) provided by Fractus as part of the Fractus-UPC Deep Tech Hub, the award was presented on 19 December. It also recognised the DigiPatICS project and the spin-off Virmedex Virtual Experiences.
As part of DigiPatICS, a system of artificial intelligence algorithms developed by the UPC’s Image Processing Group has been implemented in public hospitals in Catalonia to improve breast cancer diagnosis. Virmedex is a technology-based company dedicated to training healthcare professionals with virtual simulators based on video games, virtual reality and AI.
