A TRANSFORMATIVE OPPORTUNITY

CERT uses CO₂ to create valuable chemicals for use in countless products. The team is made up of over 10 researchers from disciplines ranging from chemistry and materials science to engineering. They joined forces in 2016 to start a research program. They were able to quickly evolve and expand their technology and become an NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE finalist.

Their technology efficiently converts CO₂ emissions into chemical feedstocks, and when powered by renewable energy sources, provides net-negative production of precursors for fuels and consumer plastics. At the heart of the technology is a record-breaking electrocatalyst that combines CO₂, water, and electricity to make valuable chemicals such as ethylene.

While there had been past research done in this area, efficiency was low, and it was widely considered an unviable solution. Undeterred, the team pursued their vision, and with their new approach to building catalysts, they found success. Through involvement with the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, they’ve been able to increase their scale by over a thousand times and have clearly proven the technology to be efficient and viable.

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