Back to search

ENERGIX-Stort program energi

DIRECT CONVERSION OF CO2 AND HYDROGEN TO FUELS (DICO2F)

Alternative title: DIREKTE KONVERTERING AV CO2 OG HYDROGEN TIL DRIVSTOFF (DICO2F)

Awarded: NOK 10.3 mill.

The project is a collaborative and knowledge-building effort between NTNU, NORCE, Equinor, Elkem, Cambi, Avinor and Nordic Electrofuel. The global demand for environmentally friendly fuels is rising at an escalating pace. One way is to convert CO2 with green hydrogen for sustainable fuel production. The electrofuels or e-Fuels technology through the Fischer–Tropsch route can produce drop-in fuels using green H2 and CO2. The most recently announced and largest project is situated in Norway, Herøya (Nordic Electrofuel, 2020). The most significant challenge for commercializing e-fuel technology is the high cost of production. This project addresses the efficiency of key steps in the e-Fuels production process by combining the development of a novel bi-functional catalyst and novel process design concepts. The proposed project (DICO2F) aims to obtain an industry-attractive novel catalyst with satisfactory activity, selectivity and lifetime, as well as achieving carbon yield of more than 90% and energy efficiency from hydrogen to fuel of more than 85% of the overall process. The results from the project could provide a viable direct route for CO2 conversion to sustainable fuel and green H2, and exploit the utilization of CO2 emission of relevant Norwegian industries.

This is a collaborative and knowledge-building project between NTNU, NORCE, Equinor, Elkem, Cambi, Avinor and Nordic Electrofuel. The global demand for environmentally sustainable fuels is rising at an escalating pace. One way is to convert CO2 with green hydrogen for sustainable fuel production. The electrofuels or e-Fuels technology through Fischer–Tropsch route can produce drop-in fuels using green H2 and CO2. The most recently announced and largest project is situated in Norway, Herøya (Nordic Electrofuel, 2020). The significant challenge for commercializing e-fuel technology is still currently high cost of production. This project is to address the efficiency of the key steps in e-Fuels production process by combing the development of a novel bi-functional catalyst and novel process design concepts. The aim of the project is to develop a novel catalyst and design concepts for a viable process to realize one step conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels at moderate temperatures in the 300-400 °C range. The project mainly consists of 1) bi-functional catalyst development based on our knowledge on a novel catalyst system; 2) kinetic studies and stability evaluation of the selected catalyst; 3) process design to optimize energy and economics of the chemical process; 4) life cycle analysis to assess the CO2 reduction potential of the new process design. The proposed project (DICO2F) aims to obtain an industry attractive novel catalyst with satisfactory activity, selectivity and lifetime, as well as achieving carbon yield of more than 90% and energy efficiency from hydrogen to fuel of more than 85% of the overall process, i.e. electrolysis not included. The results from the project could provide a viable direct CO2 conversion to liquid fuel process for sustainable liquid fuel production from CO2 and green H2, and exploited to reduce the CO2 emission of relevant Norwegian industries.

Funding scheme:

ENERGIX-Stort program energi