New Horizon in e-biofuels: Breaking the Selectivity Limitation in Hydrogenation of CO2 into C2 products

In a global context marked by climate emergency, numerous approaches are emerging to decarbonize transport and industry, either by reducing the use of fossil resources or by promoting a circular carbon economy. This PhD project proposes to investigate an innovative building block in the synthesis scheme of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), aiming to directly convert a biomass gasification outlet stream composed of CO₂, CO, and H₂ into a platform molecule: ethanol. The catalysts currently reported in the literature for this reaction suffer from limited selectivity due to the complexity of the reactions involved, which generates numerous by-products. In this PhD thesis, we propose to dissociate this poorly selective complex reaction into tandem reactions that are much better controlled through the use of distinct catalysts efficiently arranged within the same reactor. The PhD student will be entrusted with a variety of tasks that will include synthesizing these new materials; testing them in CO₂ hydrogenation experiments; developing an operando FTIR approach to study reaction intermediates, active sites and inhibitors on the catalyst surface under reaction conditions; and finally organizing and monitoring test studies on the IFPEN high-throughput experimentation platform, which allows the parallel testing of 16 catalysts. This innovative research project is looking for a motivated, organized, and curious candidate ready to evolve in a great scientific environment at IFPEN and IRCELYON. The PhD student will be half the time at IRCELYON: a world-renowned laboratory in the field of catalysis and half the time at IFPEN: a major French player in research and training. Finally, this PhD project is part of the PEPR e-biofuels 2026-2031 led by APED (Program Agency for Research on Decarbonized Energies).

Keywords: CO2 Hydrogenation – Syngas Conversion – Heterogeneous Catalysis – Materials synthesis – oxide – zeolite – e-biofuels – FTIR-Operando

• Academic supervisor    Dr Stéphane LORIDANT, IRCELYON, stephane.loridant@ircelyon.univ-lyon1.fr, ORCID : 0000-0001-8590-433X
• Doctoral School    ED206 CHIMIE, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
• IFPEN supervisor    Dr Céline PAGIS, celine.pagis@ifpen.fr, ORCID : 0000-0002-5188-0648 
• PhD location    IFPEN, Lyon, France (50%) et IRCELyon, Lyon, France (50%)
• Duration and start date    3 years, starting in the fourth quarter 2026 (November 2nd)
• Employer    IFPEN
• Academic requirements    University Master degree in Chemistry or equivalent
• Language requirements    English level B2 (CEFR), willingness to learn French language 
• Other requirements    Knowledge of materials chemistry and catalysis

To apply, please send your cover letter and CV to the academic and IFPEN supervisors indicated here below.