Demonstrating Artificial Photosynthesis to Turn CO2 into Clean Fuels
Funded through Round 1 of ERA’s Grand Challenge: Innovative Carbon Uses in 2014, this project developed and demonstrated a solar-powered artificial photosynthesis system. The system involves the conversion of CO2 and water into useful fuels like methane and methanol, showing potential for scalable carbon utilization co-located with industrial sites.
Traditional methods for turning CO2 into fuels use very high temperatures, high pressures and/ or extremely reactive chemicals. As a result, this process is not economically feasible or environmentally friendly. In this project, researchers at McGill University proposed a CO2 transformation system that mimics photosynthesis by using sunlight to turn CO2 and water into clean fuels like methane, methanol and hydrogen. These value-added products have wide marketability and can offset the cost associated with CO2 capture. The key part of the system is a special material made from tiny metal-nitride wires, called nanowires, which act like a solar-powered catalyst. These nanowires help speed up the chemical reactions that turn CO2 into fuel, without needing high heat or pressure. It’s designed to be efficient, stable over time and cheap to produce using materials already common in the electronics industry. The system reduces emissions by utilizing captured CO2 and decreasing the amount of energy required in traditional methods, therefore reducing the emissions associated with artificial photosynthesis.
Gaining Insights to Improve and Scale Nanowires
Overall, the project demonstrated that metal-nitride nanowire photocatalysts are stable, efficient and capable of converting CO2 and water into value-added fuels like methane and methanol using only sunlight. One important lesson learned from the project was that combining these nanowires with silicon solar cells helped capture more sunlight and improve energy conversion. Additionally, because the materials used are already widely used in the electronics industry, the system could likely be scaled up at a reasonable cost. Technically, the team learned that precise control over nanowire growth and engineering, such as adding certain elements or coating them with catalysts, was critical to maximizing performance. While the core concept was proven, the project highlighted the need for further improvements in efficiency and system integration before full-scale deployment. It also confirmed that the technology could be marketable, especially in industrial settings like oil refineries, where CO2 and waste heat are readily available.
What’s next?
After the project ended in 2016, the team continued developing the technology through a follow-on project funded through Round 2 of the Grand Challenge, where they built and tested a field-scale demonstration unit in Alberta. This outdoor system ran on real sunlight and showed performance similar to the lab version, successfully converting CO2 into fuels like methane and syngas. They also worked on scaling up the nanowire materials, improving reactor design, and planning a larger pilot “solar refinery” to test the technology in real-world conditions. The team began working with industry partners to explore how the system could be used at sites like oil refineries, where CO2 is already produced. Despite this work, the project unfortunately faced commercialization barriers and was unable to progress to the final round of the Grand Challenge and achieve further commercialization, and McGill researchers are not currently performing any work in Alberta.