Former HU-researcher Marek Checinski cooperates with well-known serial founder Christian Vollmann to produce eco-friendly chemicals and fuels that can revolutionize whole sectors.
Both the chemical and logistics industries face significant challenges in the wake of climate change. Conventional fossil fuels damage the climate due to high CO2 emissions – a fact that necessitates urgent rethinking. A team led by chemist and entrepreneur Dr. Marek Checinski is conducting research at the Adlershof research location and Humboldt University of Berlin on a technical revolution in sustainable chemicals and fuels.
Dr. Marek Checinski says about the joint project:
“The simple problems have largely been solved. The great challenges of our time require interdisciplinary teams with different perspectives and experiences. It’s not enough to just invent new technologies; you also need an entire team to enable rapid scaling. For such exchange to be effective, it is important to create cluster structures where different actors can try out ideas or simply meet and exchange ideas easily. These structures are available at Humboldt University of Berlin and the Berlin Adlershof science location, which is why the path from studies, doctorate, company formation, invention, cooperation, spin-off, infrastructure use, further development, and scale-up in the deep-tech field has become possible.”
C1's methanol circular economy
Breakthrough in 2018: New Homogeneously Catalyzed Production of Methanol Becomes Possible
In 2018, catalysis chemist Dr. Marek Checinski achieved a breakthrough in the synthesis of methanol: Using quantum mechanical simulations, he invented a new homogeneously catalyzed production method for this chemical, which is produced annually on a 100-megaton scale, at his company CreativeQuantum GmbH, founded in Adlershof in 2008. This new process is more selective, productive, scalable, flexible, and less susceptible to impurities in the feedstock synthesis gas than the previous manufacturing process, which dates back to a 100-year-old invention. Therefore, it is better suited for the production of green methanol from non-fossil feedstocks. Green methanol can help defossilize two industries at once: the carbon-based chemical industry and shipping, which together account for more than 5% of global CO2 emissions.
Green Methanol as an Environmentally Friendly Alternative
Green methanol, which can be derived from excess biomass or from carbon dioxide and green hydrogen, is expected to replace climate-damaging fuels as a more environmentally friendly alternative in the future. On board the company C1 Green Chemicals AG, founded in 2022, is well-known serial entrepreneur Christian Vollmann, who has already successfully founded companies such as eDarling, MyVideo, and Nebenan.de. The founding team is perfectly complemented professionally by chemical engineer Dr.-Ing. Ralph Krähnert and chemist and techno-economist Dr. Christoph Zehe.
C1 founding team: Christoph-Zehe, Dirk Radzinski, Christian Vollmann, Dr. Marek Checinski, Ralph Kraehnert (f.l.t.r.)
Renowned Investors and Supporters Back the Project
The innovative approach has already convinced renowned investors and supporters such as Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, former CEO of BASF, Dr. Udo Jung of BCG, Prof. Wolfgang Reitzle, former CEO of Linde, Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chairman of Siemens, the climate fund Planet A Ventures, and recently the world’s largest container shipping company, Danish Maersk. To scale the process, not only larger reactors are needed, but also large quantities of metal-organic materials to be synthesized.
Further Research at the Institute of Chemistry at HU
Optimizing the synthesis pathways requires in-depth research work. Together with the “Organic Chemistry and Functional Materials” research group led by Prof. Stefan Hecht, the C1 team is conducting research at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University of Berlin in Adlershof. The first reactor for the production of green methanol is already in operation, and another continuous plant will be delivered soon.