3.4 million Euros for international project on methane measurements

The European Commission has awarded a grant of nearly 3.4 million Euros to the project “Methane Goes Mobile - Measurements and Modelling” (MEMO²), coordinated by Thomas Röckmann (IMAU). In  this Marie Curie-project, researchers will develop more accurate ways to measure methane emissions. The project is a collaboration between the universities of Utrecht, Groningen, Wageningen, and six other European universities in France, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Poland and Sweden.

A strong reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is required to achieve the climate targets agreed on in Paris in 2015. A major hurdle is the difficulty in quantifying greenhouse gas emissions. There are clear differences between the official emission inventories and estimates derived from direct atmospheric measurements. The agreed-upon and reported reductions in greenhouse emissions are therefore difficult to verify, and reliable estimates of the main sources of methane are still poorly quantified.

Methane emissions

Researchers in the MEMO² project will develop improved methods for measuring methane (CH₄), the second most important greenhouse gas after CO₂ and one of Europe’s most important energy sources. Methane emissions are a major contributor to Europe's global warming impact, and a good target for combating climate change.

Grants for Weckhuysen and Hennink

Researchers from the Faculty of Science also participate in two other projects awarded within the Marie Curie programme:

• Bert Weckhuysen (Chemistry) is co-applicant of the project ‘European Training Network for the sustainable, zero-waste valorisation of (critical) metal containing industrial process residues’
• Wim Hennink (Pharmaceutical Sciences) is co-applicant of the project ‘Educational Network in Ocular Drug Delivery and Therapeutics’