Expert View: The Future Is in Our Hands – Recognising the True Potential of Next Generation Carbon Capture Technology

by Gert-Jan Gruter (Avantium/BioMarket Insights) ... While CCS removes atmospheric CO_2, it goes no further in creating a more sustainable way of life. To create a truly circular economy, we need to find a way to utilise these emissions as a component of industry production. This is called Carbon Capture & Utilisation or CCU. We rely on sources of carbon across all supply chains for industry production but next to biomass, CO₂ is the only alternative source of carbon and should be a starting point for the next generation of technologies. CCU technologies are sustainable at their core, and when paired with renewable energy could be the answer to the circular economic future we have been looking for.

Developments in electrochemistry provide the answers for using CO₂ as a feedstock for the production of sustainable chemicals and materials. These new technologies are still in the development stage. One is Avantium’s Volta program, the leading technology platform developing CO₂ utilisation solutions. Volta can be fed via Direct Air Capture (taking the very low concentrations of CO₂ out of the air) or use the emissions from large industrial installations like concrete and steel factories as the feedstock for the production of high value ingredients, chemical building blocks and fuels. This technology could yield carbon for use across different supply chains from beauty and personal care products to packaging materials and jet fuel – all made from the carbon taken from captured and stored CO_2,with not a drop of oil pumped from the ground.

While we can all do our part to reduce carbon waste in our everyday lives, most processes and technologies we depend on today will further flood CO₂ into our atmosphere. By using next generation technologies, we can turn carbon waste into a feedstock and truly combat the negative effects of the greenhouse gas, the depletion of resources, and create a perfectly circular economy. The key to this is out there and with collective effort, we can begin to see that the future is in our hands. READ MORE