We hear a lot about CO2, but how much do we know about its importance to life on this planet? CO2 isn’t just a molecule, a by-product, or a greenhouse gas; it’s the essential molecule vehicle for moving carbon around in its depleted state. It’s part of a regenerative cycle, a fundamental aspect of our planet's energy and material balance—various ecological and geological systems cycle carbon dioxide through natural processes. It’s latent potential, the future form of life, and a valuable molecule for most things we consume and use on Earth.

One of the most crucial carbon cycles is the biological cycle.  In this cycle plants, using a bio-catalyzed process known as photosynthesis, converts CO2 from the air, water and sunlight energy into more complex energized carbon molecules that we observe in the familiar form of plant leaves, stalks, flowers and fruits. When this “biomass” is consumed (i.e. eaten, burned, or decomposed), chemical bonds are broken, energy is released, and the carbon is oxidized, leaving CO2 released into the air. This process repeats endlessly, forming a continuous loop and powered by sunlight. Understanding the presence of CO2 in the world is just the beginning of a much bigger story. 

Understanding the carbon regeneration process is the first step in realizing its economic and technological viability. Unlike photosynthesis, which relies on sunlight and biological catalysts to convert CO2 into organic compounds, we now have technology that does WHAT photosynthesis does, but not HOW it does it.  We can apply a more robust, reliable and concentrated energy source (clean electricity) and a different catalyst to transform and regenerate CO2 and water, creating a reaction where carbon atoms are combined with hydrogen obtained from water (releasing oxygen) to produce essential organic (i.e. carbon-based) molecules and their precursors. This process, known as CO2 electrolysis, is distinct from photosynthesis and offers a promising alternative to accelerate decarbonization. By converting CO2 into products using clean electricity, we reduce CO2 emissions in two ways: first and most simply by the amount of CO2 that is regenerated, but the second way is less obvious but even more consequential by avoiding the CO2 emissions otherwise generated by making these same products from fossil fuels. This is known as carbon displacement or abatement.

For example, if you capture one ton of CO2 from the air or a flue gas stack and bury it, you’ve removed one ton of CO2 from the atmosphere. If, however, you convert that one ton of captured CO2 to make one ton of product that is otherwise made from fossil fuels, which emits seven tons of CO2, you’ve avoided seven tons of CO2 emissions, not just one ton.  Converting, rather than burying CO2, reduces CO2 emissions by seven times as much. Converting CO2 into valuable products enables you to sell them and generate revenue, offsets carbon capture costs, and is seven times more impactful than burying CO2. Such an approach is more economically sustainable and seven times more environmentally impactful.  This is the way.

CO2 electrolysis holds promise for reducing atmospheric CO2 levels and providing a sustainable method for producing chemicals, materials, and fuels. Its efficiency and scalability are active areas of research, but now, it is also commercialized, aiming to make it a viable commercial technology for both carbon management and molecule production.

As humankind has become part of a continuous cycle of carbon regeneration, it is clear that we are part of the circular carbon economy and now have an opportunity, using nature as a model, to evolve this process by reusing, not wasting, carbon for the betterment of everyone. Understanding and nurturing these natural processes is essential for maintaining atmospheric CO2 balance and ensuring a stable climate. Nature provides us with powerful tools; it's our responsibility to use them wisely and sustainably to balance our disrupted carbon systems and live in harmony with the natural systems that define how we live on this planet. Use, don’t waste, CO2.

Featured in Issue 2, 2024 of Carbon Capture Magazine