Background
Unprecedented increase in atmospheric CO2 levels calls for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective technologies for CO2 removal. Current CO2 abatement is largely based on energy-intensive thermal-processes with a high degree of inflexibility. In recent years, the green transition in society has triggered great interest in electro-scrubbing. This technology has distinct advantages over thermal approaches: 1) it does not require external high temperature energy sources, 2) it can be integrated easily without retrofitting, 3) it can rely entirely on renewable resources, and 4) it can be easily regulated and scaled.

Objective
The purpose of the ASGREEN project is to develop an optimized cost-effective electrochemical cell for capturing CO2. The novel cell configuration should display improved capture efficiencies, make use of sustainable capture solvents, and provide a commercially pure CO2 output. Achieving a pure CO2 stream is difficult with current cell designs. However, high gas purity is crucial for repurposing CO2. For this reason, the ASGREEN technology entails a rethinking of membrane configurations in the cells. The novel ASGREEN technology will be optimized through both laboratory scale tests and pilot tests. Solvent composition, membrane materials and configurations, and electrode materials will be analyzed and optimized. In addition, long-term application of the ASGREEN set-up will be examined in pilot.

Expected impact/output
In a large perspective, the ASGREEN technology will create value for customers by eliminating their CO2 emissions in a cost-effective manner. This will have economic implications for companies by reducing the amount of regulation-imposed emission taxes they have to pay. In Denmark, there is an ongoing political debate as to whether the CO2 quota price should be increased. If agreed upon, this will further support the economic argument for implementing the ASGREEN technology in many industries. The scalability of the technology will make it easy for especially small- to medium-sized CO2 emitters to implement carbon capture. Future commercialization of the ASGREEN technology could potentially be carried out by ESTECH A/S. The next step towards future implementation will be full-scale testing of the ASGREEN technology.