In order to reach the goal set by the IPCC of keeping global warming below 2°C by 2050, the IPCC models predict that carbon-negative technologies will be needed. This means that carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere, transformed, and permanently sequestered. Plants are very effective at removing CO2 from the air, and when they are eaten by animals or directly converted into biogas, the CO2 from the atmosphere is found in the biogas. Biogas consists of CO2 and methane. Typically, biogas is burned to generate electricity or upgraded to pure methane and injected into the natural gas network. CapBo is investigating a technology called catalytic methane breakdown, where methane is heated to high temperatures (>500°C) with a catalyst and broken down into 2 mol of hydrogen and one mol of pure solid carbon. Hydrogen is considered a key elemental building block for all types of applications in the future and is in high demand. The solid carbon represents a permanent carbon deposit that can be buried and binds the CO2 it originally came from. In CapBo, we will investigate this technology and develop new catalysts and reactor designs to make biogas breakdown into hydrogen and solid carbon possible and part of the green transition.
