Nano-CCU

Carbon Capture & Utilization

Over the last decades, industrial CO₂ emissions have been reduced significantly. Yet, even today, industries still emit large quantities of CO2. To meet the 2050 climate goals, active removal of CO₂ from industrial point sources will be necessary. To make such processes economically viable, the captured CO₂ can be used as feedstock for the production of high-value chemical products. This approach is known as Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU).

One-step process

Turning CO₂ into useful chemical building blocks can be achieved through various means. One of the more efficient approaches consists of a one-step electrocatalytic conversion process, in which CO₂ is directly converted into chemical building blocks in an electrolyser. This approach, however, requires sufficient throughput, selectivity and catalyst lifetime.

Multiple innovations

Nano-CCU aims to develop high-throughput electrolysers for CO₂ capture and electrocatalytic conversion directly from gas or vapour at CO₂ point sources. Specifically, multiple innovations will be pursued, including in the gas-diffusion-electrode architecture enabling fast all-vapor operation, as well as innovations in terms of alternative catalytic strategies.

Impact

By enabling further innovations in CCU technologies, Nano-CCU will allow Flemish industries to not only capture CO2 at point sources, but also to efficiently convert this CO₂ into valuable chemical building blocks.