Syngaschem BV in the Period 2013 – 2023
Prof. Yong-Wang Li, General Manager of Synfuels China (left) and Prof. Hans Niemantsverdriet, Director of Syngaschem (right) inspecting the SynCat@Beijing building site (November 2013)
Overview
The company was founded by Prof Hans Niemantsverdriet in the Spring of 2013, to assist Synfuels China Technology Co., Ltd, a major provider for Fischer-Tropsch Technology in China, with the foundation of a brand-new catalysis laboratory, called SynCat@Beijing. The new building, located near the parent company in Beijing-Huairou, equipped with state-of-the-art surface science, microscopy and spectroscopy tools for fundamental research, started early 2015, and was staffed by international scientific talent from China, Europe, and the US, most of them recruited via Syngaschem BV.
At the same time, Syngaschem BV functioned as a private research enterprise in Netherlands, where it employed senior research staff and accommodated several undergraduate and PhD students in its research programs. Although initially located at the Eindhoven University of Technology, it soon moved to the National Research Institute DIFFER, where together they operated the SynCat@DIFFER program, a public-private partnership, with financial support from the Netherlands Organisation for Research (NWO). While additional funding was obtained from the EU Horizon 2020 Program, the major financial support came from Synfuels China.
In 2020, Jan Karel Felderhof became General Director, while Hans Niemantsverdriet became Scientific Director, enabling him to concentrate on science.
The Scientific Staff of Syngaschem BV. From left to right: Kees-Jan Weststrate – Surface science and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis; Foteini Sapountzi – Electrocatalysis; Hans Fredriksson – In Situ Spectroscopy and Catalysis.
(photo by Toon de Vos)
SynCat@Beijing
Laboratories and surface science equipment at the new SynCat@Beijing building.
