The future of carbon utilisation: Econic’s deep-tech carbon to value technology

Econic CEO Keith Wiggins explores the state of the carbon utilisation market, following the UK government’s 2021 pledge to capture 10Mt a year of CO2 by 2030. Is the UK still a market leader in CCSU, and should funding be from the public or private sector?

In a world where CO2 emissions are ever-increasing and creating havoc, it is imperative we work to protect the next generation and incumbent that individuals and companies alike adopt solutions that are kinder to our environment.

For heavy CO2 emitting industries, like construction and chemicals, carbon capture and storage are necessary to offset emissions. However, these technologies present a cost that needs to be paid by consumers as taxpayers or investors.

Implementation is typically expensive, and simple storage mitigates harm but does not directly generate value. Carbon utilisation does.

Read more: A new golden age for nuclear in Britain?

By transforming captured CO2 into usable carbon, carbon utilisation creates value for existing industries, and for their supply chains, it incorporates CO2 to deliver better products that respond to growing customer demand for sustainable materials and practices with reduced environmental impact.

The technology

Econic offers a ready-now catalyst technology by successfully solving one of the key challenges in how to overcome the inherent stability of CO2, the property that leads to its long atmospheric lifetime and our increasing global temperatures. This deep-tech carbon to value technology enables waste CO2 to be used as a raw material in the polyurethane and surfactants industries.

The technology is poised to deliver a triple win to producers and their customers by offering a route to sustainable, higher performing, and low-cost products. In tests versus today’s polymer products, the technology has shown to reduce carbon footprints by 30% by avoiding CO2 generation and utilisation.

By incorporating CO2 into the polymer backbone, the physical properties of the product can also be enhanced. The CO2 substitutes oil-based raw materials in the polymer by up to 30% by weight. Oil and hydrocarbon derivatives will continue to stay volatile and high priced, whereas CO2 will likely stay abundant and at a low comparative cost. Coupled with processing cost reductions, CO2 containing polymers will deliver cost-effective products.

Polymers

As a true platform technology applicable across a wide range of polymers, Econic will first focus on adding value to the polyurethane value chain and its wide range of essential everyday products. The

team at Econic have conducted many evaluations in collaboration with customers and end-user partners. In varying polyurethane applications, they found that by controlling the CO2 content in the product they are able to alter the polymer structure resulting in key improvements.

For example, insulation products can be made with a lower initial carbon footprint whilst delivering equal or better thermal insulation properties, to keep homes warmer and food cooler and with improved flame resistance.

Econic’s technology can also be used to create more sustainable and lightweight flexible foams, providing noise reduction as well the enhanced durability needed from our mattresses and shoes. Coatings and elastomers last longer and are more resilient, thereby increasing the lifespan of buildings, textiles, and essential equipment.

Surfactants

Surfactants are Econic’s second focus market, the essential ingredient in all water-based formulation products, ranging from household cleaners and detergents that sanitize our kitchen and bathrooms and keep our clothes fresh, to personal care products and even paints and coatings. Promising results from incorporating CO2 into the surfactant molecule show high efficacy in most applications with both a lower carbon footprint and enhanced ecotoxicity profile.          

Lifecycle assessment

To demonstrate the strong validity of the technology contributing to the decarbonisation agenda and supporting industries to achieve net-zero, Econic conducted an independent lifecycle assessment (LCA). On a cradle to gate product analysis with direct comparison to today’s current polyol production, the work verified that for every tonne of CO2 used as a raw material at least three tonnes of CO2 emissions are avoided.

This is primarily due to a significant reduction in the energy-intensive traditional oil-based raw materials that are being replaced by CO2, coupled with direct CO2 utilisation. With full first market adoption across the polyurethane sector, the impact of the technology would be a reduction of CO2 equivalent to taking 2.5 million cars off the road or planting 189 million trees per year.

The real numbers are significantly higher when considering the value chain impact of insulations and lightweighting. The technology is not limited to replacing oil-based raw materials but is also complementary to emerging bio-based raw materials. 

Development

Econic’s carbon-to-value journey started with the original invention at Imperial College London. The company continued research and development to perfect a catalyst system and process technology at Alderley Park in Northwest England. To bring the technology to the market at the next scale, a pilot facility was built in Runcorn, UK.

This customer demonstration facility allows Econic to integrate its process from reaction through to final product treatment to assist customers. R&D activities are now advanced and focused on serving customers and the supply chain. On a project-by-project basis, Econic is able to support in the development of new CO2 containing polyols for use in a variety of applications to help demonstrate the benefits of its technology to end-users and generate market demand.

Econic’s business model is to license its technology and sell catalyst to polyol producers. So, when an end user’s polyol qualification process advances and exceeds Econic’s pilot plant capability, Econic will work with one of its early licensees to continue the scale-up through to industrial quantities.    

Market value

Econic’s unique catalyst and process technology to produce CO2 polyols works at the same pressure and temperatures as existing polyol manufacture. This means that with modest capital investment, it can be retrofitted onto existing polyol production assets.

The highly effective catalyst system safely produces CO2 based polyols in a fraction of the time it takes to make a conventional polyol. This batch time reduction results in a higher throughput on the same asset.

The volume increase leads to higher asset intensification, sustainability and profitability for the producer.  The technology has progressed at a time when educated, caring consumers are demanding more sustainable solutions and action to be taken on meaningful carbon footprint reduction. They are becoming more aware of their consumption and the impact of everyday products on both global warming and depleting finite resources.

Read more: Danone & LanzaTech to turn captured carbon into plastic bottles

In response, legislators are introducing new CO2  incentives and taxes, and supply chains are forced to react. To fund Econic’s next stage, commercialization, it has recently closed the first round of its equity capital raise. The round was led by incoming investor Capricorn Sustainability Fund and repeat investment from OGCI. They are currently working on their second close to complete the round.   

There is growing momentum around carbon-to-value as the primary driver behind a long-term circular carbon economy. Econic is strongly committed to leading the way for the polymer industry making essential products better. Commercialisation and the next steps will be crucial milestones for the company as it looks forward to building strong partnerships and establishing multiple licenses in different regions worldwide.

- The author, Keith Wiggins, is CEO of CO2-to-value specialists Econic.

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