Fuel cell-based system converts atmospheric CO2 into usable electric current

The technology, developed by Prof Guntae Kim at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in collaboration with material scientists and engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, depends on a well-understood phenomenon: the dissolution of carbon dioxide into water to produce an acidic solution, which occurs in nature when carbon dioxide dissolves in the oceans.

Prof Kim and the team realised that this could be used to induce an electrochemical reaction. The creation of an acidic solution increases the number of protons in the water, each of which can attract an electron, and this implies that a battery system can be created.

"Carbon capture, utilisation, and sequestration (CCUS) technologies have recently received a great deal of attention for providing a pathway in dealing with global climate change," says Prof Kim. "The key to that technology is the easy conversion of chemically stable CO₂ molecules to other materials." He adds, "Our new system has solved this problem with CO₂ dissolution mechanism."