Potential for electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide into chemicals

Why was it important to conduct the study?

Direct electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide is a technology that could eventually contribute to reduced climate impact through increased electrification and utilization of captured carbon dioxide (CCU). It has several advantages compared to converting carbon dioxide via hydrogen and thermal catalysis, which could make the technology more efficient, at least for certain products. For example, fewer process steps are required, and significantly lower temperatures are needed. At the same time, there is considerably less knowledge about this technology and a great need to better understand under what conditions the technology can become competitive and what challenges need to be addressed to achieve this.

What was the most interesting result?

The most interesting aspect was to see how much progress has been made in the field just in the past few years. Research has begun to move beyond universities, the technology is being demonstrated at pilot scale, and several start-ups are active in the area.

Were you surprised by any of the findings?

When we compared the results from different techno-economic evaluations of the technology, the differences were much greater than we had expected. Considering how immature the technology is, there are, of course, significant uncertainties about how good it can become. Therefore, it is not surprising that different studies make different assumptions, which affect, for example, the estimated production costs. But the extent of the differences (almost a factor of 10 for studies with similar questions) surprised us. What we found was that uncertainties in current density and investment costs have a significant impact. These are factors that are both very uncertain and have a very large influence on the results.

How can the results be used in the future?

The results can be used to gain an overall understanding of the opportunities and challenges with CO2 electrolysis both generally and from a West Swedish perspective. It demonstrates long-term potential but also a great need for further research and performance improvements before the technology can be a realistic possibility both technically and economically. Hopefully, the report will also serve as a good entry point for finding relevant studies, projects, and companies in the field for those who want to learn more.