e-Refinery Lunch lecture

Please register in tab Register.

Dr.ir. Mar Pérez-Fortes (Delft University of Technology)

CO2 electrolysis across scales

Carbon dioxide electrolysis (CO₂E) is a promising carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology, though its market penetration remains low. High-temperature co-electrolysis of CO₂ and steam for syngas production can reduce fossil fuel dependence in the process industry. However, electrochemical conversion faces uncertainties in design, implementation, and scalability. In this talk, I will present a comprehensive analysis of HT CO₂E for syngas production, integrating process systems engineering and social science and humanities methodologies.

I will discuss our latest work at different scales. We explored different plant-level configurations, including CO₂ and water pre-treatment, downstream processes to produce e-kerosene, and detailed techno-economic assessments. We assessed supply chain configurations across Europe, identifying synergies with carbon capture and storage that vary with the electrolyser operating hours. We highlighted that uncertainties like syngas demand and government support play a critical role in strategic decisions in the design of the supply chains. At the context level, carbon dioxide electrolysis, being in an early formative phase, was found vulnerable to shifts in actor strategies, which can result in discontinuities in the learning process, which can be detrimental to the timely implementation towards climate neutrality.

By 2040, CO₂E could play a complementary role in sectors like green chemicals and fuels. A shift from “fit-and-conform” (focused on cost comparison with fossil-fuel alternatives) to “stretch-and-transform” narratives was found crucial to envision CO₂E’s role in a carbon-neutral economy. This work provides a common ground of understanding for advancing CO2E technologies towards a more sustainable process industry

 

You can find the recorded lectures on our website:
https://www.tudelft.nl/e-refinery/online-lectures