Abstract
The European Climate Law mandates Member States to cut greenhouse gas emissions, aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. To meet this target, the electrochemical reduction of CO2 (eCO2R) is pivotal as it can be simultaneously used to reduce carbon levels while also serving as a feedstock material for sustainable chemicals and fuels. Currently, there exists a strong focus on the development of zero-gap electrolysers utilising gaseous CO2 due to the low CO2 solubility in aqueous electrolytes upon which mass transport inhibitions occur. The materials chosen to facilitate the mass transport of reagents and products in and out of the cell are currently based on hydrogen fuel cells, leading to dissatisfactory product purities and system efficiencies. In this proposal, a completely novel bottom-up design is proposed to obtain an integrated structure of the main components responsible for multiphase transport. Three WPs have been designed to develop an in-depth understanding of the mass transport and functionality of both the bipolar plate and the porous transport layer. Furthermore, high-end electrochemical and physico-chemical characterisations will allow us to set up structure-performance correlations by which it will be possible to fully control the mass transport and reaction environment. Ultimately, this will then lead to a significant advance in terms of efficiency and durability as well as greatly contributing to the fundamental understanding and operation of eCO2R reactors.
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