New Feedstocks and Chemistry for Lower CO2-Footprint: Today, Tomorrow, and in the Future

Industrial research targets the reduction of CO2 footprint by means of renewable feedstocks. Three different topics are addressed: the use of the biomass as feedstock for fuels and chemicals, utilization of carbon dioxide as feedstock in the polymer industry, and finally, a concept to apply renewable energy in combination with carbon dioxide to make intermediates for chemical synthesis. These examples have been selected in order to illustrate that the strategic change of feedstocks has to be addressed on different time scales, necessity for the multidisciplinary approach, and the enabling role of catalysis.