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Nanoscale Advance of CO2 Electroreduction

Project description

Realising the need for efficient CO2 electroreduction

CO2 reduction plays a crucial role not only in preventing climate change but also in reducing global warming. The transformation of CO2 presents an even more enticing solution, as it enables the creation of lucrative circular economies concurrently. Unfortunately, at present, promising CO2 electroreduction technologies are under-researched and lack efficiency. The ERC-funded NASCENT project aims to overcome the challenges hindering efficient CO2 electroreduction. This is to be achieved through the development of a catalyst design materials platform. This innovative platform will facilitate the design and fabrication of improved catalyst interfaces specifically tailored for CO2 electroreduction. Moreover, it will contribute to uncovering fundamental insights into the process.

Objective

The transformation of CO2 into fuels and chemicals is one promising route to revert global warming, enabling sustainable circular economies. CO2 electroreduction (CO2E) offers a pathway to generate globally used chemicals using renewable electricity. The performance of CO2E towards key chemicals such as ethylene, ethanol (C2) and higher energy-density molecules increasing number of carbon atoms (e.g. C3 and beyond) is today far from its technoeconomic viability. Product selectivity, energy efficiency, stability, and carbon utilization are, when combined at scale, insufficient.

Further advances in CO2R performance are precluded by the yet limited understanding of reaction pathways, mass-transport and reactant competition; the scarce knowledge of the catalyst and its environment during reaction; and the lack of ability to control these, accurately, at the catalyst metal/liquid interface.

NASCENT tackles these challenges exploring an innovative catalyst design materials platform to address the catalyst interface through the atomic-, nano-, and micro-scales. NASCENT exploits a family of metal and polymer precursors and engineers their assembly into metal/polymer interfaces with specific configurations tailored for CO2E. This is informed by a suite of complementary operando spectroscopies, designed and orchestrated to resolve the unanswered questions of CO2E interfaces at relevant operating conditions: Involving high current density, abrupt potentials, and a highly dynamic water/ion environment. This will enable the rational design of metal/polymer CO2E interfaces that achieve, and exploit, control over composition, reactants, ion, charges, and electric fields, across the needed spatial and temporal scales.

NASCENT will help answer key fundamental questions in CO2E leading to transformative advances: Its ultimate goal is the viable, clean electrosynthesis of most important C2 chemicals and a path to generate so far elusive C3+ molecules efficiently.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG

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Host institution

FUNDACIO INSTITUT DE CIENCIES FOTONIQUES
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 944 060,00
Address
AVINGUDA CARL FRIEDRICH GAUSS 3
08860 Castelldefels
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 944 060,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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