Fuel of the future: Chemistry expert explains research on turning CO₂ into clean fuel

University of Richmond chemistry professor Michael Norris researches ways to capture and convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into fuel — most notably methanol — which is compatible with existing energy and fuel infrastructure.

As he explains, the importance of this research and the biggest challenges may surprise people.

Why is it important to study fossil fuels?

Norris: Fossil fuels power most of what we do around the world. While there have been advances in both renewable and alternative energy, these sources still make up a relatively small percentage of world-wide energy generation. Since it will not be easy to completely stop using fossil fuels, it’s important to understand how we can lessen their impact on climate change and devise solutions that work in concert with renewable energy to overcome some of the limitations of renewable sources. To put it simply, we need to limit new CO₂ produced in the atmosphere.

How would turning CO₂ into fuel help the environment? 

Fossil fuels will never go away. To sustain a population of humans you need a lot of energy, which can take different forms. The simplest form of energy is burning stuff, which creates an energy you can use. So, the question becomes how you have enough energy and not destroy the planet in the process.

Ideally, the capture and conversion of CO₂ would mean that no new CO₂ would be produced. You could burn a fuel, capture the CO₂ that comes from that process, then “recycle” the CO₂ back into fuel. Additionally, the fuels will be much “cleaner” burning because we are synthesizing the fuels, which means the fuel will not have contaminants that are typically found in naturally formed deposits of things like coal and oil.

Why isn’t renewable energy a viable solution?

In a perfect world, energy sources like solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal would provide the required power, but it is difficult, expensive, and time consuming to convert from fossil fuels to renewables as an energy source. Liquid fuels are easy to store and are ready when you need them, while batteries lack some of the energy density and portability. Not to mention, our infrastructure in the United States is built for fossil fuels — we have lots of pipelines for transporting fuels quickly and easily across the country to where they are needed — but we cannot easily transport solar electricity. Also, the United States is very large compared to smaller countries that have made advances in this area.

What might surprise people about your research on turning CO₂ into clean fuel?

It’s not actually very difficult to capture CO₂ and turn it into something else. The biggest challenge is controlling what it gets turned into and making sure it’s a molecule that is useful. For example, we’ve had some success with turning CO₂ into methanol. We’ve found the control often comes from how you deliver the energy to the CO₂ — light, heat, electricity, etc. How you add energy matters, and we are exploring that as we work toward a final product and solutions.