A greener route to coatings, plastics and polymers

The University of Groningen has been awarded approximately EUR 200,000 ChemistryNL funding to develop a more sustainable production route for bio-based chemicals. The project, Electrochemical conversion of renewables into chemical building blocks, has a total budget of about EUR 272,000 and is carried out in collaboration with Circolide Technologies B.V. Dr. Dulce Morales, Assistant Professor in Electrocatalysis at the Engineering and Technology institute Groningen (ENTEG), leads the RUG contribution.

Dr. Thomas Freese and Hannah Feringa are the project partners at Circolide.

Bio-based chemical building blocks

The research aims to develop an electrochemical process for producing bio-based butenolides as high-performance alternatives to fossil-based acrylates, which are used in coatings, plastics and polymers. By combining electrochemistry with renewable feedstocks, the project seeks to establish a more sustainable and scalable production route for valuable chemical building blocks.

For more information, see the PPS-I 2026 announcement of awarded projects and the overview of funded projects.