AMOLF receives grant from Sustainable Science Fund

How can we make research at AMOLF more sustainable? One answer to this question is to reduce the amount of liquid nitrogen used for performing experiments. Recently, AMOLF was awarded a grant of 48,760 euro from NWO and the Dutch Climate Research Initiative (KIN) to purchase equipment that will allow the institute to produce gaseous nitrogen in-house. As a result, AMOLF will purchase less liquid nitrogen, which requires a significant amount of energy to produce.

Research institutes often use large amounts of liquid nitrogen, even though for many applications neither the liquid form nor ultra-high purity is required. Turning nitrogen into a liquid is an energy intensive process, as it must be cooled to extremely low temperatures (−196 °C). In addition, the transport and storage of liquid nitrogen require further energy and complex logistics, resulting in a substantial environmental impact.

Researcher in the AMOLF NanoLab Amsterdam. Credits: Ivar Pel

Gaseous nitrogen

The project, titled ‘Fit for purpose nitrogen: reducing liquid nitrogen use through local nitrogen generation in research laboratories,’ involves the purchase of equipment to produce gaseous nitrogen from pressurized ambient air. The NanoLab within AMOLF is a strong candidate to launch this project because it uses substantial amounts of liquid nitrogen for its daily operation. In addition, its infrastructure can be adapted relatively easily. Other labs at AMOLF will continue to use liquid nitrogen where experiments require extremely low temperatures and/or high purity.

From idea to implementation

AMOLF technician Dion Ursem came up with the idea of producing gaseous nitrogen locally. He says: “I’ve had this idea for a while, and the sustainability grant provided the push it needed. Within a short timeframe, I focused on the technical aspects, turning it into something we could properly calculate, validate, and prepare for implementation.”

Christian Niederauer, chair of the AMOLF sustainability workgroup, took the next step and quickly applied for the grant. He recalls that there was only one week left to prepare the proposal. “It worked because everyone immediately got on board at full speed. While Dion and his colleagues focused on the technical calculations and gathering the necessary information, I was able to focus entirely on writing the proposal.”

Sustainable Science Fund

With the call, NWO aims to drive forward ecological sustainability and ensure that researchers can conduct their research with the least possible undesirable impact on the climate, environment and living environment.

To find out more about the Sustainable Science Fund, go to the NWO website.

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