ECOLEFINS · Nano-Engineered Co-Ionic Ceramic Reactors for CO2/H2O Electro-conversion to Light Olefins

As a major contributor to the global CO2 emissions, the commodity chemical industry should be urgently coupled with renewable electricity to become independent from fossil fuel resources. ECOLEFINS aims to establish a new, all-electric paradigm for the electro-conversion of CO2 and H2O to light olefins, the key-intermediates for polymers and other daily life chemical products. The proposed concept reverses the heavy CO2 emissions associated to the petroleum-based light olefins production to massive CO2 capture and valorisation for carbon negative ethylene, propylene and butylene. The concept introduces co-ionic ceramic membrane reactors and short-stacks/modules that merge the anodic steam electrolysis for hydrogen production with the cathodic CO2 electrolysis and hydrogenation to light olefins, over tailored and nano-engineered electrodes; aiming to develop a substantially more effective technology, for the single-step, RES-powered artificial photosynthesis of CO2 to valuable chemicals. This ambition entails a multi-disciplinary task, requiring highly tuned synergies among cutting edge research in the fields of: i) advanced materials science & engineering for co-ionic composites, perovskite ex-solutions, and organometallics, ii) electrochemistry and electrochemical process engineering, iii) catalysis science and engineering, iv) computer aided materials design and atomic scale modelling, and v) digital real-scale process modelling and economic evaluation, along with a comprehensive sustainability assessment, applied social research for impact framing, and marketization planning.