SBIR Phase I: Ethanol Production via Electrolytic Recycling of Byproduct CO2 from Fermentation

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to advance sustainable manufacturing by converting CO2 into valuable products. Traditionally, carbon-based products are produced using fossil fuels as both an energy source and carbon source. The company's electrolyzer technology uses renewable energy to transform CO2 and water into common products such as ethanol for use in beverages, sanitizers, and consumer goods.

This new process reduces the carbon intensity of ethanol manufacturing by at least an order of magnitude. The project's outcomes will also enable the production of other carbon-based products like food and pharmaceuticals using only CO2 and water. At the heart of this system are novel, large-scale electrolytic processes poised to revolutionize carbon-based product manufacturing.

Beyond its sustainability impact, outcomes from this project will drive economic growth centered around CO2 recycling.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to advance sustainable manufacturing by developing scalable technology to convert CO2 into high-value products. Our focus starts with ethanol production. Future efforts will expand to include other two-carbon products and derivatives including food and medicine.

The project focuses scaling with high conversion efficiencies and reduced energy consumption. Key research objectives include developing new electrolyzer designs along with more durable, high-performance electrocatalysts and electrolyzer components that maximize CO2 conversion rates and product selectivity. The team will iteratively refine electrolyzer designs to improve performance and energy efficiency.

At the end of the project, the anticipated outcome is a prototype tool capable of producing at least 1 liter of ethanol per day with minimal energy input. Beyond mitigating CO2 emissions, products from this work will drive economic growth around CO2 recycling.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.