SOCAR TURKEY ARASTIRMA GELISTIRME VE INOVASYON ANONIM SIRKETI

Their core work

SOCAR AR-GE is the R&D and innovation arm of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) based in Istanbul, Turkey. They focus on CO2 capture and utilisation technologies, advanced reactor design, and photocatalytic conversion processes — all aimed at decarbonising petrochemical and energy operations. Their H2020 participation centres on developing industrial-scale solutions for converting CO2 into useful chemicals like dimethyl ether and solar ethanol, using technologies such as 3D-printed reactors and flow photoreactor systems. As a large energy company's R&D unit, they bring real industrial testing environments and scale-up expertise to research consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their trajectory shows a clear shift from CO2 capture (materials and separation) toward CO2 utilisation and solar fuel production. Early work (2018) centred on adsorbent materials like metal-organic frameworks, carbon nanotubes, and membrane-based CO2 separation in CARMOF. By 2021, the focus had moved decisively toward converting captured CO2 into valuable products — dimethyl ether via 3D-printed reactors (CO2Fokus) and solar ethanol via photocatalytic flow reactors (NEFERTITI). This mirrors the broader industry shift from "how do we capture carbon" to "how do we make money from captured carbon."

SOCAR AR-GE is moving toward solar-driven chemical production and Power-to-X pathways, positioning itself as an oil company R&D unit actively preparing for post-fossil business models.

How they like to work

SOCAR AR-GE operates as a contributing partner rather than a consortium leader — they have zero coordinator roles across all three projects, and one participation was as a third party. With 38 unique consortium partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they engage in large, diverse consortia typical of ambitious RIA/IA projects. This pattern suggests they bring industrial testing capacity and application knowledge to research-driven teams rather than setting the research agenda themselves.

Despite only three projects, SOCAR AR-GE has built a broad European network of 38 partners across 14 countries, reflecting their participation in large-scale consortia. Their network spans academic institutions and industrial partners across the CO2 capture and utilisation research community.

What sets them apart

SOCAR AR-GE brings something rare to research consortia: they are an oil and gas company's dedicated R&D unit actively working on decarbonisation. This means they can offer real-world industrial validation environments — refineries, petrochemical facilities — that academic partners simply cannot provide. For consortium builders, having a major fossil fuel company's R&D arm as a committed partner strengthens both the application relevance and the exploitation potential of CO2 utilisation proposals.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NEFERTITI
  Their largest-funded project (EUR 382,917) and most ambitious — direct photocatalytic conversion of CO2 and water into solar ethanol, representing their push into solar fuels.
• CO2Fokus
  Combines 3D-printed reactor technology with solid oxide cells for market-relevant dimethyl ether production — a concrete CO2 utilisation pathway with clear commercial potential.
• CARMOF
  Their entry point into H2020 as a third party, focused on innovative CO2 adsorbents using metal-organic frameworks and carbon nanotubes — foundational capture work that informed their later utilisation projects.