CO₂ conversion
Carbon capture and conversion is shifting CO2 from a cost or a waste product to an opportunity – supporting global decarbonisation efforts, towards the transitioning to lower-emissions products and creating potential revenue streams from CO2-derived products, such as fertilizers, renewable fuels and a variety of building materials. In the long term, the aim is to support the transition towards lower-emission products and processes diversifying outputs and engaging stakeholders across the value chain.
The CSIRO CO2 Utilisation Roadmap identifies four opportunity areas to pursue: conversion of CO2 , mineral carbonation, biological conversion and direct use of CO2..
Electrochemical reduction
Electrochemical CO2 reduction driven by renewable electricity is a promising conversion route and a frontier science topic. It is more compatible with decentralised, intermittent renewable sources.
Despite recent advances, existing technologies face two major challenges:
- The long process trains of water production, CO2 absorption-desorption- compression, electrolysis and post-product separation lead to a low energy efficiency and a high capital investment.
- The use of gaseous CO2 requires elevated pressure for CO2 supply and additional steps for post-separation and recycling the unreacted CO2. The economic viability and industrial applications are limited.
At the CSIRO Energy Centre, we developed an innovative approach integrating CO2 capture with electrochemical conversion. This concept aims to streamline the process chain, minimise capital investment, and reduce energy consumption. Our goal is to utilise Australia’s rich renewable resources and leverage its strengths in energy and resource sectors to transform waste CO2 from industrial emissions or ambient air into renewable carbon-based materials such as synthetic fuels and chemicals.
Our team is working on multiple projects to explore the fundamental aspects of complex interfacial reactions and the relevant catalysts, with the goal of designing, constructing and operating a pilot demonstration under industrially relevant conditions. Our target is to facilitate the commercial deployment of this technology and help transition Australian industry to a sustainable low-carbon future.
