Single-site catalysts for CO2 electroreduction to ethylene

To achieve this goal, cathodes based on novel single-site catalysts will be designed and evaluated in electrolyzers in collaboration with our industrial partner Redoxme AB. In-depth characterization will be conducted during reaction to provide new fundamental understanding and guide the design of more cost-effective and selective cathode catalysts.

Research question

Single-site catalysts based on single atoms and single atom alloys are promising catalysts with highly efficient use of metal atoms, thereby reducing our dependency on scarce metal resources. Importantly, they are known to break classical scaling properties of adsorption energies on transition metal surfaces. Can single-site catalysts achieve enhanced performance for CO2 electroreduction to ethylene at high current density in electrolyzers?

Sustainability aspects

Ethylene is a major commodity chemical and is primarily derived from thermal cracking of fossil fuel-based hydrocarbons today. The process is estimated to generate 300 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year, which is about six times greater than the yearly emissions of Sweden. Selective CO2 electroreduction using renewable electricity could offer a sustainable pathway to produce ethylene and contribute to the mitigation of climate change.