Lucía Herráez awarded with AVENIR Excellence Scholarship for research placement at ēQATOR partner CNRS–IRCELYON

We are pleased to announce that Lucía Herráez, a PhD candidate at the University of Alicante, has been awarded the AVENIR Excellence Scholarship 2025/2026, a programme supported by the French Embassy in Spain in collaboration with the Diálogo Association. The award ceremony took place on 4 July 2025 at the Théâtre de l’Institut français de Madrid. 

Thanks to this scholarship, Lucía will carry out a three-month research placement at IRCELYON – CNRS in Lyon, France, between May and July 2026, under the supervision of Prof. Yves Schuurman. Her work will contribute directly to the ēQATOR project, a Horizon Europe initiative focused on accelerating clean methanol and low-carbon technologies through advanced catalysis, digital modelling, and innovative reactor design. 

The CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) is one of France’s leading research institutions. Within ēQATOR, its activities are carried out by IRCELYON (Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse et l’Environnement de Lyon), a research unit specialising in heterogeneous catalysis and environmental processes. 

IRCELYON is responsible for the development and experimental validation of catalytic systems for dry reforming of methane (DRM) under microwave heating.  

The ultimate goal is to optimise syngas production—a critical step in renewable methanol synthesis—in terms of energy efficiency and selectivity, contributing to more sustainable and cost-effective chemical processes. 

We warmly congratulate Lucía on her achievement and look forward to welcoming her into the ēQATOR research community! 

© Lucía Herráez Santos 2025