A University of Calgary research group got a shout out recently when the winners of the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry were announced.
On Oct. 8, Drs. Susumu Kitagawa of Kyoto University; Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley; and Richard Robson of the University of Melbourne, all PhD, were announced as recipients of the international award.
The trio received the Nobel for the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are materials that can act like tiny sponges. These materials can be customized to selectively attract different molecules, allowing for versatility in drug delivery and energy storage, all the way to environmental remediation.
Dr. George Shimizu, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in UCalgary's Faculty of Science, says he knew the time was coming for MOFs to receive the prestigious award.
"One of our compounds, called Calgary Framework 20 or CALF-20, was actually highlighted as an example of carbon capture," he says. "It was really exciting to see that."
As the lead investigator of the Shimizu MOF group, Shimizu, along with other scientists, proved these substances could be stable and scaled for industry use.
The story of CALF-20: more than 10 years of innovation and development
CALF-20 was first discovered by researchers working in Shimizu's lab in 2013. Even at the time, they were calling it "magic MOF" due to its remarkable stability.
"It could be boiled for weeks, which, in most cases, would rip a MOF apart," says Nick Fylstra, a PhD candidate whose thesis is based on CALF-20.
"Separating CO2 (carbon dioxide) from water can be difficult for other MOFs, but CALF-20 can, and that was a game changer."
The results of a first-of-its-kind pilot demonstration using CALF-20 were published in Science in 2021, receiving more than 80,000 downloads and 600 citations to date. The results from this paper represent a tour-de-force effort to validate and turn a discovery into a real product that makes cutting carbon emissions economical.
CALF-20's performance was cited by the Nobel Committee as the benchmark example for industrial-scale carbon capture by MOF.
Having UCalgary research highlighted led to excitement for everyone from former students to senior leaders on campus.
"I'm thrilled George Shimizu's groundbreaking work is receiving global recognition by the Nobel Committee," says UCalgary President and Vice-Chancellor Ed McCauley.
"His CALF-20 compound is a revolutionary breakthrough on its own, with application for carbon capture on an industrial scale.
"This invention by George's research group is an exciting piece in the overall development of metal-organic frameworks that have widespread potential for solving some of society's biggest challenges."
Faculty of Science Dean Kristin Baetz says metal-organic frameworks are a fascinating area of study.
"This Nobel Prize-winning work exemplifies how fundamental research leads to transformative innovation," she says.
"That innovation is occurring at the UCalgary Faculty of Science, where George Shimizu's MOF CALF-20 is making significant strides in carbon capture."
Other opportunities related to CALF-20
Fylstra co-founded TurnCO2, a company that uses CALF-20 to take the CO2 released by yeast during beer fermentation and purify it for further reuse in the brewing industry. The company is on the verge of fundraising.
"Beer emits CO2 as it ferments, but breweries buy CO2 because it's just too expensive to consider capturing and reusing it," says Fylstra.
Fylstra adds the recognition by the Nobel Committee "highlights the value of what's been discovered about the material, but I don't think we've seen everything that CALF-20 can do just yet."
Dr. Adrien Côté, PhD'04, has fond memories of working in Shimizu's lab. He has since worked with Nobel Laureate Yaghi; became executive director at Velocity, the University of Waterloo's entrepreneurship centre and business incubator; and is now the CEO of Shimizu's new venture, Existent, a company whose mission is to simplify carbon capture using CALF-20.
"Working with George and Omar pushed your capacity as a scientist and an individual," says Côté. "They're the type of advisors who help you see what your potential could be and encourage you to go for it."
Existent provides MOF sorbents that simplify industrial separations.
"It can reduce complexity and costs, unlocking solutions that are currently blocked due to economics," Côté says. "High-impact research that pushes the boundaries of knowledge and challenges what's possible is essential.
"Hearing about the Prize was humbling. I think in a world where excellence in general is not recognized enough, it's nice to know that you're a part of something that was recognized as being excellent."
Shimizu says he's also humbled that his team's discoveries contributed to the award, particularly because he knows two of the laureates.
"I've told both Kitagawa and Yaghi how important their work was for me, on a personal level," he says. "There are a few times in your career when you see talks that completely change your perspective on something. What they showed was so revolutionary, they're really inspirations."
