Summary and Significance

Converting CO 2 to a chemically reduced compound is a critical enabling step for SynAppBio’s vision to create thousands of commodity chemicals via enzyme synthesis. A variety of approaches have been studied, including electrochemical, enzymatic, nanocatalytic and novel combinations of those. This article describes one approach that has been developed at the US
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). SynAppBio is collaborating with the NREL team on proposals for further government funding to develop these technologies. This article describes the scientific basis of their approach.

Abstract Summary

This work describes a novel electrode assembly architecture for the direct electrochemical synthesis of formic acid from carbon dioxide. The key technological advancement is a perforated cation exchange membrane, which allows formic acid generated at the membrane interface to exit through the anode flow field. With no additional interlayer components between the anode and cathode this design is positioned to leverage currently available materials and stack designs ubiquitous in fuel cell and H 2 electrolysis, enabling a more
rapid transition to full-scale commercialization. Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) is utilized to illustrate a path towards achieving cost parity with current formic acid production methods. The embedded link is to the publisher, Nature Communications. If you are not able to access the publication, please fill out a contact form and we may be able to provide you with a single copy for your use.