Project description
A new life for waste CO2
Nature knows no waste! This is the case with waste CO2. Massive consumption of fossil fuels results in excessive emission of CO2. Building on a previous European Research Council proof-of-concept project that confirmed the competitiveness of a solar energy conversion approach, SolarCO2Value will aim for a real breakthrough in the field of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) in line with Europe’s Green Deal objectives. Specifically, it will develop, build and operate a containerised demonstrator scale CO2 electrolyser unit (capable of processing 100 t CO2/year) as well as to validate its performance using photovoltaic power.
Objective
One of the most important challenges of humanity is to maintain economic growth and wellbeing in an environmentally sustainable way. The European Green Deal addresses this issue and it aims at making Europe climate neutral by 2050. To reach this aim, a high priority opportunity is the utilisation of waste carbon dioxide to produce valuable chemicals (e.g. energy carriers, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals) in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. In our previous ERC Proof of concept project, we have demonstrated that the most viable approach where sunlight is first converted to electricity by a solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and CO2 is then reduced electrochemically to carbon monoxide, which can be further processed to valuable chemicals. The technoeconomic analysis performed during the ERC PoC project confirmed the competitiveness of this solar energy conversion approach. Our team developed the current best performing low temperature CO2 electrolyser cell at laboratory scale, published the results in Nature Energy and filed two PCT patent applications regarding this technology. The aim of this project is to translate our scientific and technological excellence to a commercially appealing value proposition. Our objective is to develop, build and operate a containerised demonstrator scale CO2 electrolyser unit (capable of processing 100 t CO2/year) as well as to validate its performance using photovoltaic power. We aim to perform a detailed technoeconomic assessment and develop a business plan to attract investors in order to scale the technology further and start its commercialization. By the end of the project, we aim to become ready for Series A investment and/or EIC-Accelerator blended finance. The success of this project will represent a genuine breakthrough in the field of Carbon capture and utilization (CCU); enhancing European leadership in this emerging market, and a significant contribution to Green Deal objectives.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energy
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryinorganic compounds
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringcarbon capture engineering
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfuel cells
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsenergy conversion
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinator
6726 Szeged
Hungary
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.