Project description
Improved electrochemical conversion of CO2: cost-effective, highly selective and sustainable
Carbon-containing compounds are the feedstock for a plethora of chemicals and polymers including plastics, rubbers and detergents. Greener alternatives are a key goal of the chemical industry as most are sourced from fossil resources. Electrochemical conversion of CO2 is one of the most promising pathways, yet it faces challenges. These include the need to use iridium-based anodes to avoid the acidification of CO2 electrolysers and the difficulty in achieving high selectivity in the production of high-energy-density alcohols. The ERC-funded RECALLCO2 project will attempt to remove these obstacles. They will develop a novel electrochemical cell design, molecular catalytic architectures that overcome current limitations, and coupling with metal rather than carbon electrodes.
Objective
The electrochemical conversion of CO2 to carbon-based feedstocks represents one of few technological routes capable of replacing fossil fuel derivatives. Despite substantial advancements, however, major challenges impair CO2 electrolysis from matching its promise. Critically, steady acidification of CO2 electrolyzers during operation currently necessitates the use of iridium-based anodes. This is unacceptable from a cost and resource availability perspective. More fundamentally, while CO2 reduction to CO, formate and ethylene has become highly selective, the production of high-energy density alcohols with high selectivity has been elusive. To overcome these barriers, new scientific approaches are needed.
RECALLCO2 will resolve iridium dependencies and non-selective alcohol production in CO2 electrolysis through a combination of novel electrochemical cell design and the development of molecular catalytic architectures which break existing fundamental limitations. On the system design front, I will micro manipulate reagent, ionic and water fluxes to inhibit nickel corrosion pathways which presently necessitate iridium anodes. This will be the first-ever intrinsically stable CO2 electrolyzer capable of using nickel anodes.
A second pillar is the conceptualization that strong electronic-coupling of metal complexes to metal electrodes can eliminate redox-controlled reaction pathways on molecular catalysts. This counters decades of work using carbon electrodes as supports. Coupling with a metal electrode will delink electron transfers from a molecular catalysts oxidation states, and fundamentally change catalytic behaviour that currently restricts reactions to 2 electrons. Thus, CO2 reduction products such as methanol (6 electrons) and ethanol (12 electrons) will become viable. Utilizing this counterintuitive approach, I will push alcohol synthesis well beyond state-of-the-art selectivity and reaction rates, giving renewed promise for producing these compounds.
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. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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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.
2628 CN Delft
Netherlands
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