The application goal of ReLaKIKat is the AI-supported development of new catalysts with optimal activity, selectivity, and stability for the industrial oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen monoxide (NH3 + 5/4O2 → NO + 3/2H2O). This reaction, currently carried out in large, autothermally operated reactors on Pt/Rh wire meshes, is the first step in the industrial production of nitric acid using the Ostwald process. The process, developed around 1900 by Wilhelm Ostwald, still has two unresolved problems. During the reaction, N2O (nitrous oxide, laughing gas), a highly potent greenhouse gas, is produced as a byproduct. Additionally, the Pt/Rh meshes corrode under process conditions within a short time. Much Pt is lost due to the evaporation of volatile platinum species. Both the formation of N2O and the loss of platinum are overcome by ReLaKIKat. At the end of the ReLaKIKat project, a new catalyst material will be available that produces little or no laughing gas and is so stable that it achieves twice the catalyst lifespan under harsh process conditions compared to Pt/Rh. 

Project Collaborators:

1. REACNOSTICS GmbH is a young, dynamically growing company based in Hamburg,
   founded in 2017 as a spin-off from TUHH (Technical University of Hamburg).
2. Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) - Prof. Dr. Karsten Reuter- the Theory Department at FHI is internationally recognized for its multiscale modeling of heterogeneous catalytic processes, spanning from reactive surface chemistry to heat and mass transport in reactors. 
3. Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH) - Prof. Dr. Raimund Horn - the Institute of Chemical Reaction Engineering at TUHH, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Raimund Horn, focuses on the behavior of solid catalysts in catalytic reactors.