From FAU to CIC energiGUNE: Henning Früchtenicht’s journey within WASTE2H2

Henning Früchtenicht, Master’s student at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, is currently carrying out a research stay at CIC energiGUNE within the WASTE2H2 project. In this interview, he shares his experience working in an international research environment, his interest in sustainable chemical technologies, and his perspective on the role that catalysis and hydrogen production can play in advancing a more circular and sustainable future.

• Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you are studying at FAU?

Hi! I am Henning, from Erlangen, Germany, and I am currently enrolled in the Master´s program “Chemical Engineering – Sustainable Chemical Technologies” at FAU. I am now at CIC energigune to carry out the research for my master´s thesis.

• Is this your first international research experience?

Yes! During my studies, I have spent two semesters abroad, but I have never been part of an international research project before.

• Why did you decide to carry out your research stay at CIC energiGUNE within the European WASTE2H2 project?

Being part of an international project is already a great experience in itself, because it opens a lot of opportunities to get to know people from different cultural and professional backgrounds who bring together a unique combination of knowledge and life experience.

CICenergigune is a modern institute with a lot of highly skilled researchers working across many different projects, which makes it a great place to academically thrive and profit from skills and experiences of scientists and engineers from diverse academic backgrounds.

I believe, to successfully work together for a better future, we need not only a good exchange of knowledge between countries and people, but also a mutual understanding of how we are living across different cultures. In my opinion, the best way to reach this understanding is by working and living in different countries!

• What interests you most about the WASTE2H2 project?

Recycling of plastic waste is a topic very close to my heart, so I want to take as many opportunities as possible to learn about and work on the improvement of possible methods. The more possibilities there are to profit from it, the more people will be interested in viewing it as a valuable resource instead of discarding it as waste.

• Why do you think transforming plastic waste into clean energy is important for the energy transition and the circular economy?

Both waste management and the production of clean energy are very important tasks to ensure a sustainable future. We see today that even though there are already several methods available to recycle plastic waste, a lot of it is still uncontrollably polluting the environment. Expanding the process range to include the generation of hydrogen (which will become an important energy carrier in the future) from plastic waste promotes both: a responsible waste management and the transition to fossil-free fuels.

• What will your main tasks be during your stay at CIC energiGUNE?

I will be working on the screening of different types of catalytic systems to explore their behaviour under microwave heating, analyzing their activity and selectivity to target products. Furthermore, I will take part in exploring the employment of different types of ionic liquids both as solvents as well as (co-)catalysts.

• What results or skills would you like to take away by the end of your stay?

I believe this stay will have a lot of positive impacts on my future career. I am improving my language skills in both Spanish and English, I am working together with people from different backgrounds, and I learn how to adapt to a new environment quickly.

My goal is to be able to professionally work towards a sustainable future. This project is highly focused on a circular and sustainable economy, it combines research on waste management, production of fossil-free energy carriers and versatile, recyclable solvents, which all have great potential to lead to a sustainable future! Thus, I expect to get a lot of insight into different aspects of sustainable chemical engineering!

• How do you think this experience could influence your future academic or professional plans?

Since I want to work towards a sustainable, circular economy, being involved in this project will only reinforce my focus on these topics. Being part of such an intense research environment will definitely have an impact on my career choices in the future. What I already know is that I want to take part in international projects in the future.