Society needs to recarbonize – meaning that we need to use and find alternative ways for the carbon component we find in many materials we use on a daily basis such as plastics. The researcher is developing new ways to be able to capture & convert CO2 out of the air we breathe. This will create circular carbon. The technology is based on by flowing air containing CO2 through a special washer. The washing liquid will capture the CO2. The CO2 loaded washing liquid is subsequently used as an electrolyte in an electrochemical CO2 conversion process. Basically, the washing liquid works in two ways, first as absorbent and second as media for the electricity driven conversion of CO2 to valuable chemicals. These chemicals could be commodity chemicals such as ethylene and carbon monoxide. The researcher is developing equipment that can execute both steps - capturing & converting – at the same time. Next to the development of this special equipment another challenge is to design it in such a way that the electrolyte remains stable and the machinery is durable and sustainable.

The first system under development start from capturing and conversion of CO2 derived from flue gases. But initial research is going on the extrapolate towards air capture. The capture media is made more selective, due to the much lower concentration of CO2 in air (400 parts per million (ppm); 0,04%) compared with flue gases (4 to 20%). By first focusing on flue gas application creates a clear pathway forwards for implementation on the midterm, while air capture implementation is foreseen for the long term.