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8 min ago 2 min read
California-headquartered electrolyser manufacturer Ohmium has partnered with New Jersey electrochemical technology startup RenewCO2 to commercialise the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical feedstock.
Using early-stage estimates, a 40-island commercial plant is expected to convert roughly 25,500 tonnes of CO2 per year into 24,000 tonnes of formic acid, RenewCO2 Chief Technology Officer Karin Calvinho told gasworld.
On a commercial scale, each modular “island” will produce around 600 tonnes of formic acid a year, with between 10 and 40 islands deployed depending on site requirements and offtake demand.
The total electrochemical system is around 325 kW for each island, or 13 MW for the 40-island commercial plant.
Calvinho continued, “The strongest fit is co-locating with a concentrated biogenic CO2 source, biofermentation streams like ethanol or bioenergy plants are ideal, since the CO2 is already pure and cheap.”
The partnership aims to integrate Ohmium’s proton exchange membrane (PEM) platform and manufacturing infrastructure, with RenewCO2’s catalyst technology using clean electricity.
The electrochemical CO2 conversion process will be used on-site for industrial emitters, such as biogas and bio fermentation facilities, power generation assets, chemical plants, oil and gas operations.
Calvinho told gasworld the partnership with Ohmium is expected to accelerate the commercial demonstration timeline to within the next 18 months.
Dr Markus Tacke, CEO of Ohmium, said the pairing aims to support the commercial production of sustainable fuels and materials to advance decarbonisation efforts.
The companies are evaluating sites across the US, Japan, and Brazil, and are still finalising the economics of the project.
