GHG-R Flagship Destination

Breaking the Energy Barrier
The novel chemistry that could unlock DAC at scale 

Team: Steven Chu, Yi Cui, Arun Majumdar

Efficient Electrochemical CO₂ Capture Enabled by pH-independent Redox Chemistry - Current methods of capturing CO₂ require large amounts of energy (about 1,600 kilowatt-hours per ton of CO₂). This team aims to develop an energy-efficient electrochemical approach that captures CO₂ continuously. It relies on a redox reaction that swings pH, which enables CO₂ capture at high pH and CO₂ release at low pH. Through this method, the team aims to reduce the energy requirement by about an order of magnitude. The team will build and test a benchtop flow cell and measure its energy savings. 

In the longer term, the team plans to build a pilot-scale facility that will be approximately 10 times smaller than a conventional (amine) plant. This novel CO₂ capture project has the potential to remove CO₂ continuously at the scale of billions of tons while reducing long-term material costs and increasing energy efficiency.