Reclaiming fuel from air
The companies trying to capture atmospheric carbon and transform it to hydrocarbons using green energy
Hydrocarbons can made using hydrogen from water vapour and carbon from atmospheric CO2, in reactions powered by renewable electricity. Dubbed ‘e-fuels’, they may soon be commercially viable, given a helping hand from governments.
A raft of start-ups and research groups are racing to develop and scale up the technology. Nordic Blue Crude chief executive Gunnar Holen predicts his company will reach that goal towards the end of 2021. Engineering is underway for a €70 million (£60 million) plant to be sited at Porsgrunn, Norway. It will take carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from an adjacent ammonia plant and make hydrocarbons, powered by hydroelectricity. While the hydrogen will initially be fossil-sourced (from natural gas), Holen says it will eventually come from electrolysing water.