Resources-2-Products

Argonne’s Resources-to-Products (R2P) initiative integrates advanced conversion and separations science into a single pipeline, from fundamental discovery through pilot-scale system validation. R2P develops efficient, scalable pathways to transform diverse feedstocks, including abundant U.S. light hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide (CO₂) and industrial byproducts, into fuels, chemicals and advanced materials for energy and manufacturing systems.

As technologies move beyond laboratory discovery, performance is increasingly governed by scale-up effects, including pretreatment requirements, complex process dynamics, transport phenomena, thermodynamics, material stability and reaction kinetics. R2P evaluates and improves technologies under conditions that reflect industrial use, helping reduce risk as they move from the lab to deployment.

R2P brings together computing, laboratory research and pilot-scale testing to move technologies from early discovery to practical use. The initiative aligns with Argonne’s capabilities in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, critical materials, transportation systems and x-ray science to accelerate technology development.

What Makes R2P Different

R2P builds on discovery science and engineering assessment by integrating process innovation, system design and validation to accelerate translation to deployment-ready technologies.

Conversion and Separations Science

Catalytic and transport-driven pathways are designed for selectivity, durability and energy efficiency across diverse feedstocks and operating environments.

Science to Scale

R2P advances technologies from early discovery (TRL 1-2) through Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3–5 and into pre-pilot and pilot-scale validation. Efforts are supported by process modeling, techno-economic analysis and integrated system trials to evaluate performance under deployment-relevant conditions.

Integrated Systems

R2P applies fit-for-purpose system design, including feedstock pretreatment strategies, process intensification and modular integration. These approaches improve performance, reduce system complexity and accelerate and de-risk industrial deployment.

R2P supports integrated conversion and separations pathways that transform methane, refinery off-gases and CO₂ into fuels and chemicals. Systems are designed, characterized and validated under realistic operating conditions to inform scalable manufacturing, infrastructure and supply chain decisions.

Tools, Capabilities and Facilities

R2P combines advanced computing, experimental research and system-level investigation and validation to move technologies from discovery to real-world application.

Digital and AI-Enabled Capabilities

• AI-Enabled Discovery and Development: Foundation models, agentic AI frameworks and data-driven workflows support hypothesis generation, catalyst and materials screening, mechanistic analysis, operating-window exploration and process design.
• Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF): Exascale computing and advanced modeling enable multiscale simulation, AI-driven materials discovery and digital process development and optimization.

Advanced Characterization and Materials Infrastructure

• Advanced Photon Source (APS): Spectroscopy, imaging, tomography and scattering techniques enable in situ and operando observation of catalysts, membranes and sorbents under reaction and separation conditions.
• Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM): Fabrication, characterization and imaging of catalyst, membrane and adsorbent materials at nano- and atomic-scale precision.
• Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF): Materials synthesis, performance testing and process scale-up capabilities that support deployment-relevant evaluation.

Pilot-Scale Validation

• Carbon Capture, Conversion and Storage Testbed (C3ST): A modular validation platform operating on a pilot-scale to de-risk scale-up and inform full-scale design. C3ST enables integrated conversion and separations technologies to advance from early system integration (TRL 3–5) toward higher readiness levels under industry relevant conditions.

Applications

R2P supports a broad range of energy and manufacturing applications, including:

• Fuels and chemical production
• Industrial separations and purification
• Light hydrocarbon and intermediate upgrading
• Resource recovery 
• Processing pathways relevant to materials used in energy storage, transportation and industrial systems

Strengthening U.S. Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness

By advancing conversion and separations as system-level enabling technologies, R2P reduces energy and cost intensity across industrial processes, strengthens domestic manufacturing capabilities and supports resilient supply chains for fuels, chemicals and advanced materials.