(Invited) CO2-Negative Ethylene Via Electrolysis – Greenerene™, a Green Chemistry Start-up

Reduction of greenhouse gases is vital for the long-term environmental health of the planet. While there has been progress in reducing and capturing CO 2 emissions, a vast majority of emissions are not captured, and atmospheric CO 2 concentration continues to rise. This creates a large and growing market for CO 2 sequestration and utilization, which presents an opportunity to rethink how commodity chemicals, which often come with a large carbon footprint, are produced in the US and globally. C 2 H 4 is a key building block in the chemical industry to produce a wide range of plastics, solvents, cosmetics, etc. On average, the production of 1 MMT of C 2 H 4 generates 1.5 MMT of CO 2 , from fuel combustion, decoking, and utilities. Globally, C 2 H 4 production by steam cracking is ranked as the second-largest contributor of energy consumption (2.8 EJ/year) and greenhouse gas emissions (300 MMT of CO 2 -e/year) in the chemical industry. Electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) to produce C 2 H 4 at ambient conditions, when coupled with renewable electricity, could reduce dependence on fossil fuels and decarbonize the chemical sector associated with C 2 H 4 production. At Giner, we are developing technology to improve selectivity, productivity, and durability of the CO 2 electrolyzer, enabling commercial deployment. This technology is the basis of a spin-out start-up company called Greenerene™ that is currently seeking investment funding to scale up to the pilot plant scale over the next 3-5 years. Currently, our state-of-the-art electrolyzer has achieved 60% C 2 H 4 selectivity at 500 mA cm -2 and 3 V in a 50 cm 2 MEA electrolyzer. We are in the process of translating this performance into multi-cell stacks and larger-area cells to enable 1-ton/day production of ethylene at the pilot scale. We have also developed a detailed Techno-Economic Analysis of our technology, including cost of carbon capture, renewable electricity, and balance of plant including power electronics, recirculation, and purification systems, that demonstrates a pathway to economic competitiveness. With the addition of already implemented and anticipated carbon credits, at scale our technology should be able to produce ethylene at less than current market prices, and with significant environmental and climate benefits compared with current production methods. Acknowledgement: The project is financially supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of EERE under Grants DE-EE000942l and DE-EE0010836.