NANOTEC (Thailand) –CNRS (FRANCE) promoted collaboration on Advanced Characterization and Novel Biorefinery

On 22 November 2022 at NANOTEC, Thailand Science Park, Dr. Wannee Chinsirikul, NANOTEC Executive Director, welcomed the delegates from The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), FRANCE. The CNRS group led by Dr. Christophe Geantet, Deputy Director of IRCELYON and Dr. Antonio Aguilar Tapia, Beamline Scientist of Néel Institut. In this regard, delegates from the French Embassy in Bangkok and Khon Kaen University (KKU) also accompanied the group to NANOTEC. The aim of the visit is to promote granting opportunity between France – Thailand and to follow up the research collaboration on Advanced Characterization and Novel Biorefinery between NANOTEC (Thailand) – CNRS (FRANCE).


In 2022, Thai researchers from NANOTEC and Khon Kaen University and French researchers from CNRS had received a grant from the Franco-Thai Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Research Franco-Thai Mobility Programme / PHC SIAM 2022-2023 which will support research activities and people mobility for 2 years. This bilateral collaboration is on the topic of “Sustainable Development of 2D catalysts from biomass for CO2 reduction and bio-oil deoxygenation”. Franco-Thai Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Research Franco-Thai Mobility Programme / PHC SIAM is mobility grants to develop scientific and technological exchanges of excellence between the research laboratories of the two countries by encouraging new cooperation and the participation of young researchers and doctoral students in all research filed.

Apart from the visit, a hybrid seminar on “Franco-Thai Cooperation on Advanced Characterization and Novel Biorefinery” was organized with an aim to exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of environment/biorefinery including renewable energy. There were 4 invited speakers as follows.
Topic: “Granting Opportunity: French Funding and Fellowship for Researchers in Thailand” by Mr. Benoît Talleu, French Embassy in Thailand
Topic: “Knowledge Sharing: Success Story for Research Franco-Thai Mobility Programme/ PHC SIAM” by Dr. Pongtanawat Khemthong, NANOTEC, NSTDA, THAILAND
Topic: “Special Talk for scientific cooperation: 3rd and 4th generation of biofuels via HTL pathway” by Dr. Christophe Geantet, IRCELYON, FRANCE
Topic: “Special Talk for scientific cooperation: “French X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Beamlines at the European Synchrotron: Actual and Future Performances” by Dr. Antonio Aguilar Tapia, Institut Néel, FRANCE.

(left to right) The visitors visited NANOTEC laboratory (catalyst research) and ENTEC laboratory (Clean Fuel Technology and Advanced Chemistry Research and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Research Team)

After the visit of CNRS’s researchers to NANOTEC, a group of NANOTEC and KKU researchers visited IRCELYON, and ESRF in France for 2 weeks (24 November – 13 December 2022) with the support under the Franco-Thai Cooperation Programme in Higher Education and Research Franco-Thai Mobility Programme / PHC SIAM 2022-2023. They were sharing their research experience and learn the technique to use the advance research laboratories with French researchers.