General Techno-Economic Analysis of CO₂ Electrolysis Systems

Abstract

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) has received significant attention in academic research, although the techno-economic prospects of the technology for the large-scale production of chemicals are unclear. In this work, we briefly reviewed the current state-of-the-art CO<sub>2</sub> reduction figures of merit, and performed an economic analysis of a generalized CO<sub>2</sub> electrolyzer system for the production of 100 tons/day of various CO<sub>2</sub> reduction products. While carbon monoxide and formic acid were the most economically favorable products under current conditions, higher-order alcohols such as ethanol and n-propanol could be highly promising if reasonable electrocatalytic performance benchmarks were achieved. Furthermore, we established performance targets such that if these targets are achieved, electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> reduction for fuels and chemicals production can become a profitable option as part of the growing renewable energy infrastructure.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• University of Delaware US

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