Prof. Dr. Frédéric Vogel

Group Head
Catalytic Process Engineering
Paul Scherrer Institute
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland
Telephone
Email
CV
2012 to present
Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz FHNW, Brugg-Windisch, SwitzerlandProfessor for Renewable Energies
- Joint appointment with the Paul Scherrer Institut, conducting independent research in bioenergy-related topics
- Teaching the basics of process engineering and directing semester projects, Bachelor and Master theses at the University of Applied Sciences.
2010 to present
Hydromethan AG, Villigen, SwitzerlandHead of Technology Development
- Scientific and technical support of a feasibility study for a demonstration plant for the catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass with a capacity of 1 t/h.
2003 to present
Paul Scherrer Institut, Research Division Energy and Environment, Laboratory for Bioenergy and Catalysis, Villigen, SwitzerlandHead of the Catalytic Process Engineering Group.
Co-founder of the spin-off company Hydromethan AG for the commercialization of the catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass.
Conducting independent research in the fields of
- Hydrogen production by autothermal reforming of gasoline for fuel cell applications
- Hydrothermal gasification of biomass for the production of substitute natural gas
- Low temperature catalytic partial oxidation of methane to syngas for Gas-To-Liquids applications
2000 to 2002
Paul Scherrer Institut, Research Department General Energy, Laboratory for Energy and Materials Cycles, Villigen, SwitzerlandSenior scientist in the Catalytic Process Engineering Group.
Projects:
- Autothermal reforming and catalytic partial oxidation of methanol for fuel cell applications
- Well-To-Wheel analyses of different fuel processing options
- Hydrothermal gasification of wood sawdust
1997 to 1999
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Energy Laboratory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.Visiting Engineer with Prof. Jefferson W. Tester and Prof. Kenneth A. Smith enjoying a fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).
Projects:
- Supercritical Water Oxidation (SCWO) of methanol
- Kinetic modeling of SCWO of complex mixtures
- Conversion of black liquor into valuable products in a plasma reactor
1993 to 1997
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH, Zurich, Switzerland.Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Philipp Rudolf von Rohr
Developed a novel process for the wet oxidation of organic compounds with oxygen at mild conditions (patent filed).
1989 to 1993
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH, Zurich, Switzerland.Diploma in Chemical Engineering. Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Paul Rys.
Performed numerical simulations of convection, diffusion and parallel-consecutive chemical reactions in a two-dimensional incompressible fluid flow on a CRAY Y-MP supercomputer (vectorized FORTRAN code).
Born in Grenchen (Switzerland) on May 29, 1969.
Publications
Awards
- 1997 Young researcher fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).
- 2001 Invitation to the Exploratory Workshop on “Supercritical Fluids as Active Media: Fundamentals and Applications”, European Science Foundation, Valladolid, Spain.
- 2004 SNF grant for attending the CERC3 Young Chemists Workshop, St Malo, France.
- 2004 Poster award (2nd prize), session “Hydrogen from fossil fuels”, 15th World Hydrogen Energy Conference, Yokohama, Japan.
- 2007 Poster award, Alliance for Global Sustainability, Annual Meeting, Barcelona, Spain.
- 2007 Prize winner of the PSI competition on compensating CO2 emissions from air travel.
- 2007 Invited book chapter for Handbook of Green Chemistry, Wiley VCH.
- 2008 Best poster award, session “Biofuels”, 16th European Biomass Conference, Valencia, Spain.
- 2009 Best poster award, session “Solid/gaseous biofuels”, 17th European Biomass Conference, Hamburg, Germany.