The Potential of Electrochemical Carbon Capture: A Scalable Path to Decarbonization

Abstract

As the climate emergency continues, researchers project that slowing down global warming will require removing nearly 20 billion metric tons of CO2 annually [3]. Current carbon removal technologies, such as direct air capture (DAC) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), are inefficient, energy-intensive, and difficult to scale [1]. Due to these challenges, researchers are exploring alternatives, and one promising approach is electrochemical carbon capture with Porous Solid Electrolyte (PSE) reactors. PSE reactor captures pure CO2 in a dissolved water solution (bicarbonate form) by simply consuming electricity, without heat or chemicals, while simultaneously recovering the sorbents with low energy consumption of 50-118 kJ/mol CO2 [5]. The stable long-term operation of the modular reaction reactor could be potentially scalable for wider deployment, following economic analysis, policy analysis, and process analysis to observe its strengths and weaknesses and determine the direction for global adoption. The future of electrochemical CO2 capture is a bright one, not lit by combustion but rather by green and sustainable technologies.