What does Nobel Prize-winning research mean for the energy industry?

This year, both the Chemistry and Physics Nobel Prizes were awarded for research that may hold particular significance for the energy sector.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for the development of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), porous molecular structures that can be used for carbon dioxide capture, efficient gas and hydrogen storage, and potentially for enhancing the performance of batteries and solar cells.

The first MOF was created by Richard Robson using positively charged copper ions, but it proved unstable. Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi, working independently between 1992 and 2003, laid the solid foundations of this construction method. Kitagawa demonstrated that gases can move in and out of these frameworks and predicted that MOFs could even be flexible. Yaghi created an exceptionally stable MOF and showed that, through rational design, these materials can be modified and endowed with entirely new and desirable properties.

Since their pioneering discoveries, chemists have developed tens of thousands of MOFs. Their energy applications are now in the stages of research, development and prototype testing. One of the most advanced areas is CO₂ separation and capture.

The large internal surface area of MOFs enables significant CO₂ adsorption capacity. Because their structures can be tuned at the molecular level, they can selectively bind CO₂ over other flue gas components such as N₂ or O₂.

One of the Nobel Prize winners, Omar Yaghi and his research team are working on developing new types of CO₂-absorbing porous materials that can capture carbon dioxide not only from point sources, but also directly from ambient air. The group is working with BASF on the large-scale production of MOFs and related materials.

A notable European initiative is MOF4AIR, funded by the European Union and comprising 14 partners from 8 countries, which aims to develop and demonstrate MOF-based CO₂ capture technologies in power plants and energy-intensive industries.

A 2024 study provides an overview of advances in MOF-based materials for energy storage and conversion, including applications in gas storage, batteries, supercapacitors and photo/electrochemical energy systems. It examines recent achievements in hydrogen storage, highlighting, among others, research that explored a type of microporous aluminium-based MOF capable of simultaneously storing CH₄, H₂ and CO₂ with high stability. However, the study also notes that, “despite the considerable amount of research on high-performance MOFs for hydrogen storage, it remains challenging to achieve the anticipated theoretical storage density.”

In the field of methane adsorption, the Kitagawa group’s work in 1997 is considered pioneering. A developing technique for more efficient natural gas transport is the combination of LNG and adsorbed natural gas (ANG), known as LNG–ANG coupling. In 2022, a MOF material was developed that could be beneficial in this regard, demonstrating stable and cyclic methane adsorption capacity.

MOF-based materials offer significant potential also for rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors, which could have prospects in hybrid electric vehicles due to their rapid charge–discharge capabilities, long cycle life and environmental advantages. However, their relatively low energy density remains a major obstacle in this field.

The materials hold significant potential for biogas purification and hydrogen generation via water splitting. The EU-funded MOF2H2 project aims to improve the sun-to-hydrogen efficiency of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) for water splitting under visible light. Its goal is to scale up the sustainable production of the two most promising MOFs and to evaluate their long-term stability under operating conditions.

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis for the discovery of macroscopic quantum tunnelling and quantised energy levels in electrical circuits. This research has opened opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technologies, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.

One of the technologies being explored for applications in the energy sector is superconductors. In particular, there are experiments with high-temperature superconductors (HTS) that may help improve the efficiency of the power grid by reducing energy losses. Alongside these material developments, quantum computing algorithms are being studied as tools for the design, operation, and optimisation of energy systems, providing methods to model and address problems that are difficult for classical computers.

Advances in superconducting materials and quantum algorithms thus represent two areas where quantum technology may gradually contribute to the efficiency and management of energy systems. So far, however, their practical use has mainly been demonstrated in smaller-scale solutions.

Interesting experiments are being carried out by E.ON and IBM Quantum, who have developed an algorithm for managing weather risk and pricing that could outperform classical methods when run on a sufficiently advanced quantum computer.

The EU has multiple initiatives for the development of quantum computing, including the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI), which will consist of a terrestrial segment relying on fibre-optic networks linking strategic sites at national and cross-border levels, and a space segment based on satellites. The EuroQCI will safeguard sensitive data and critical infrastructures, including data centres, hospitals, and energy grids.

The Quantum Technologies Flagship is a long-term research and innovation initiative that aims, over a period of 10 years, to support the work of hundreds of quantum researchers, with an expected EU budget of one billion euros.