Sparking industry’s interest in electrosynthesis

Industry’s reliance on petrochemicals is one of the main reasons why electrochemical synthesis was never fully explored says Tobias Gärtner, chief executive at ESy-Labs, a start-up located in Regensburg, Germany, that specialises in electrosynthesis technology. Modern industrial chemistry has evolved to efficiently exploit fossil fuel-based hydrocarbon feedstocks and turn them into chemical products using classical organic chemistry, from the nylon fibres in our clothes to the artificial flavours in our foods.

The carbon toll of these industries – the chemical sector being the third largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide – and a legacy of polluting waste is leading chemists to search for greener processes. And they are turning to electrosynthesis: using an electric current to facilitate chemical reactions instead of chemical redox agents. ‘Electrochemistry was a niche [method] but more and more it’s coming out of the niche and being recognised as a real synthetic method,’ says Gärtner. But while publications and funding in electrosynthesis have been on the rise in the last decade, academic trends don’t always successfully make their way to industry.