Turkish petrochemical major offering industrial CO2 infrastructure and scale-up validation for carbon capture and utilisation research consortia.
Petkim is Turkey's largest integrated petrochemical company, operating a major production complex in Aliağa near İzmir that manufactures plastics, synthetic fibers, solvents, and a wide range of downstream chemical products. In H2020 research, they participate as an industrial partner — bringing real-world petrochemical production infrastructure and large-scale CO2 emission streams that give research consortia a credible industrial testbed. Their focus across both projects sits at the intersection of carbon management and advanced materials: first capturing CO2 from industrial processes, then converting it into marketable chemicals. This signals a deliberate strategic interest in decarbonizing petrochemical operations while opening new product pathways from carbon waste streams.
CARMOF (2018–2022) involved Petkim in developing MOF-based and carbon nanotube adsorbents with membrane and vacuum temperature swing adsorption technology for CO2 removal from industrial gas streams.
CO2Fokus (2019–2023) targeted conversion of CO2 into dimethyl ether via 3D-printed multichannel reactors and solid oxide cell technologies, directly relevant to Petkim's interest in turning carbon waste into saleable products.
Across both projects, Petkim's core value is providing a real petrochemical industrial environment against which research-scale CO2 technologies can be validated — a role few Turkish companies bring to EU consortia.
CO2Fokus introduced 3D-printed reactor designs and multichannel reactor architecture, reflecting exposure to additive manufacturing methods for chemical process intensification.
Petkim's H2020 participation opened in 2018 with CARMOF, focused squarely on capturing CO2 — using metal-organic frameworks, carbon nanotubes, and membrane systems to remove it from industrial exhaust. By 2019, CO2Fokus shifted the lens from removal to valorisation: the same CO2 stream becomes a feedstock for dimethyl ether production through 3D-printed reactors and solid oxide cell processes. In just two consecutive projects, the trajectory moves from "dispose of CO2" to "sell CO2 as product" — a meaningful industrial logic shift that mirrors the broader European push toward carbon circularity in the chemical sector.
Petkim is moving toward circular carbon chemistry — treating industrial CO2 as a chemical feedstock rather than a waste stream — which points toward future interest in Power-to-X, e-fuels, and green chemical production consortia.
Petkim has participated exclusively as a consortium partner across both projects, never as coordinator, which is typical for large industrial companies engaging research networks to validate technologies against their operational context rather than to lead scientific programmes. Despite only two projects, they connected with 29 partners across 10 countries, indicating they joined large, well-networked consortia — both H2020 IA and RIA formats — rather than small bilateral arrangements. Working with them likely means access to real petrochemical infrastructure and industrial data, but expect them to follow research leadership rather than drive project direction.
Through just two projects, Petkim built connections with 29 unique consortium partners spanning 10 countries — a notably wide network for such limited participation, reflecting their entry into large pan-European consortia. Their geographic spread is European-focused, though their Turkish base adds non-EU industrial market reach that is uncommon in H2020 consortia.
Petkim is one of very few large Turkish industrial companies with direct H2020 consortium experience, making them a rare bridge between EU research networks and Turkish petrochemical manufacturing capacity. Their Aliağa complex provides a real industrial CO2 emission environment — not a simulated lab setting — which gives carbon capture and utilisation technologies a credible scale-up testing ground that most academic partners cannot offer. For consortia targeting industrial deployment in Turkey or seeking non-EU industrial validation to strengthen their impact case, Petkim's combination of petrochemical infrastructure and EU research familiarity is a genuine differentiator.
