The global production of ethylene exceeds that of any other organic compound, with 317 million tonnes produced each year. It is extensively used in both the EU and global chemical industries, serving as an important C2 building block for various products, including polyethylene.
Currently, the primary method of ethylene synthesis relies on steam cracking of fossil hydrocarbons, which accounts for over 95% of global production. However, this process has high energy demands and results in annual CO2eq emissions of 260Mt, approximately 30% of the total CO2 footprint of the chemical industry.
This reliance on fossil fuels presents an opportunity for the gradual substitution of fossil-based feedstocks by converting industrial CO2 into ethylene using renewable energy. This shift would directly contribute to emission reductions, enhance energy security and improve EU autonomy.
A significant barrier, however, is that industrial CO2 streams from hard-to-abate industries contain impurities that can poison conventional catalysts, necessitating costly pre-treatment. This highlights the need for solutions capable of handling lower-purity CO2 streams to improve overall efficiency and economic feasibility.
Transforming CO₂ into industrial opportunity
The REACT project is designed to deliver an innovative solution for recycling CO2 that unlocks its economic potential. The project will develop an impurity-tolerant tandem electrochemical process capable of directly converting these less pure industrial CO2 streams into a valuable ethylene mixture. This approach reduces the capital intensity, energy requirements, and environmental footprint of the conversion technology. The resulting ethylene mixture will be validated for the production of high-value materials, including polyethylene packaging, surfactants, and automotive polymers, thereby strengthening the industrial carbon management value chain and creating a pathway for CO2-derived products to be competitively priced in the market.
Benefits of REACT
- Renewable electrochemical conversion of industrial CO₂ for sustainable chemicals production.
- Reduced dependence on fossil feedstocks for synthesis of polymers, chemicals, and fuels.
- Testing of innovative materials for electrolyzer components.
- Integrating renewable energy in novel tandem electrochemical systems.
- Strengthened European industrial autonomy.
- Digital twin optimisation for advanced monitoring and scalable deployment.
- Building resilient and circular industrial value chains.
