Renewable carbon-based fuels and feedstocks from solar electricity + CO2

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This research program seeks to advance the electricity-driven conversion of CO2 into carbon-based fuels and feedstocks. We will develop systems that renewably synthesize chemicals, such as ethylene - processes that today rely on fossil fuel sources. We will develop physical models that enhance our understanding of these processes, contributing thereby to enabling rational design of new materials for the synthesis of complex target products. The technology developed by this program will help to enable the transformation of CO2 into a renewable source of valuable chemicals. Overall, the global goal of reduction net CO2 emissions requires a combination approach: improved conservation, energy efficiency, and new technologies that not only curtail the current rate of carbon dioxide emissions, but that have the potential for net-negative emission processes. Our work seeks to contribute to the conversion of CO2 to valuable products using renewable electricity. This can offer a carbon-negative method of synthesizing products that today are conventionally derived from fossil fuels. A CO2 conversion system includes an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte solution containing CO2. The anodic reaction forms O2 from water and provides electrons and protons for the cathodic reaction; this is known as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). At the cathode, CO2 is converted to the target product in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Our program will focus on the design, synthesis, and understanding of new materials and systems for both OER and CO2RR. We take a multidisciplinary approach combining computational modeling with experimental synthesis and characterization to develop detailed models of both OER and CO2RR materials for energy storage. By enabling the synthesis of carbon based fuels using renewable electricity, our work addresses the problem of seasonal energy storage faced by intermittent electricity sources such as solar and wind. Generation of renewable, carbon-based feedstocks for manufacturing will help accelerate our transition to a sustainable economy.