Project description
New method to convert carbon dioxide
Ethylene production exceeds 317 million tonnes annually, mainly derived from fossil fuels, resulting in high CO2 emissions. Renewable energy could reduce emissions, but CO2 impurities from certain industries challenge current catalysts. The EU-funded REACT project is developing a method to recycle CO2 and harness its economic potential. This will involve an impurity-tolerant tandem electrochemical process to convert less pure industrial CO2 into a valuable ethylene mixture. This approach is expected to lower costs, energy use, and environmental impact. The ethylene will be tested to produce high-value materials such as polyethene packaging, surfactants, and automotive polymers, strengthening the carbon management value chain and enabling competitive pricing for CO2-derived products.
Objective
The global production of ethylene exceeds that of any other organic compound, with 317 million tonnes produced each year. It is extensively used in both the EU and global chemical industries, serving as an important C2 building block for various products, including polyethylene. Currently, the primary method of ethylene synthesis relies on steam cracking of fossil hydrocarbons, which accounts for over 95% of global production. However, this process has high energy demands and results in annual CO2eq emissions of 260Mt, approximately 30% of the total CO2 footprint of the chemical industry.
This reliance on fossil fuels presents an opportunity for the gradual substitution of fossil-based feedstocks by converting industrial CO2 into ethylene using renewable energy. This shift would directly contribute to emission reductions, enhance energy security and improve EU autonomy. A significant barrier, however, is that industrial CO2 streams from hard-to-abate industries contain impurities that can poison conventional catalysts, necessitating costly pre-treatment. This highlights the need for solutions capable of handling lower-purity CO2 streams to improve overall efficiency and economic feasibility.
The REACT project is designed to deliver an innovative solution for recycling CO2 that unlocks its economic potential. The project will develop an impurity-tolerant tandem electrochemical process capable of directly converting these less pure industrial CO2 streams into a valuable ethylene mixture. This approach reduces the capital intensity, energy requirements, and environmental footprint of the conversion technology. The resulting ethylene mixture will be validated for the production of high-value materials, including polyethylene packaging, surfactants, and automotive polymers, thereby strengthening the industrial carbon management value chain and creating a pathway for CO2-derived products to be competitively priced in the market.
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.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry hydrocarbons
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
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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.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.5.2 - Energy Supply
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HORIZON.2.5.4 - Buildings and Industrial Facilities in Energy Transition
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Topic(s)
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.
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-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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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) HORIZON-CL5-2025-02
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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.
7034 Trondheim
Norway
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.