Carbon Recycling International |CRI
Ómar Freyr Sigurbjörnsson – Sales and Marketing Director
Developing a Research Agenda for Utilization of Gaseous Carbon Waste Streams
National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine – Workshop January 31st 2018
Pioneering Carbon Capture and Utilization to make Green methanol
CRI is a privately owned company, founded 2006 in Reykjavík, Iceland with 40+ employees
CRI develops Emissions-to-Liquids (ETL) process technology to produce methanol directly from carbon dioxide and hydrogen
Producing green methanol directly from CO2 and H2
CO2 capture
Hydrogen generation
Hydrogen processing
H2
CO2
Clean Conversion
CRI’s GO plant
• First commissioning: 2012 Capacity expansion: 2015• Commercial demonstration plant to prove technical and
commercial viability• First to recycle kilotons of CO2 from flue gas to produce
liquid transport fuel• All feedstock and utilities locally sourced
• No fossil fuel used• ISCC+ certification of GHG emission savings
• 90-100% reduction compared to fossil fuels• Platform for technology development, new technology
demonstrations and operator training
5600 t/yr CO2
800 t/yr H2
Methanol loop
4,000 t/yr methanol
Clear Benefits for Carbon Emissions
Raw material and energy Process related emissions Methanol offtake Total emissions up to factory gate
Coal
Natural gas
CO2
3 ton CO2
0.7 ton CO2
-1.3 ton CO2
Reference: Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev., 2017, 61, (4), 297–307Energy Conversion and Management, 2016, 124, 168-179
Why Methanol from CO2 + Renewable Energy?
C
Methanol market vision past 2020
2015
2016
20172018-2020
Carbon Utilization Economy Gasoline blend (M15, M56)
M100 (automotive & marine)
FAME biodiesel (esterification)
DME, OME (drop in for diesel)
MTBE (octane enhancer)
Synthetic gasoline (MTG)
RES Electricity
Byproduct H2
Waste
Coal
Natural gas
FormaldehydeAcetic acid Olefins
30 Mt/a
50 Mt/a
H
H
HH
O
C
40%
60%
Gre
en
Foss
il
Biomass
Fuel
Chemicals
• Methanol can be made from any form of energy and carbon
• Not limited by scarce resources• Not limited to certain locations• Conversion efficiencies vary from
40 - 70%• CO2 + RES has the most scalability• Green Methanol can be used to
replace most forms of fossil hydrocarbons and petrochemicals
• Can contribute to hundreds of Mtnet CO2 reduction in near future
• Some technologies already demonstrated at scale for CO2 to Fuels, Polymers and Minerals
• Improved economics from process scale up and increased efficiencies
• Lower energy requirements for carbon capture
• Lower electricity consumption for hydrogen generation
• New products and processes from CO2 are being developed and existing ones are being scaled up and commercialized
• Need funding to bridge gaps for demonstration and first-of-its kind commercial facilities more so than for basic research
• Need more predictability on public policy and support for investors
Technical challenges for CCU
No fundamental technical barriers to start commercialization
CCU research topics
• Efficient large scale electrolysis
• Novel and efficient carbon capture methods
• Heterogeneous catalysis
• Process intensification and waste heat recovery
• Dynamic plant operation and controls for chemical energy storage and grid integration
Managing our carbon emissions
Prevent
Minimize
Recycle
Dispose of
RES
Efficiency
CCU
CCS
What to do? How?
h
• Recycling and managing of carbon emissions is needed for climate protection and long term sustainable sourcing of fuels and chemicals
• CRI has built a unique production plant and shown it is possible to produce methanol from recycled CO2at an industrial scale
• Methanol is a versatile chemical commodity increasingly used as clean burning fuel and base chemical in rapidly growing markets
• Some CCU technologies are already commercially ready with no major technology barriers
• Support for R&D - especially demonstration of new technologies is vital for increased deployment and measurable results
Summary
Thank you
