UP Catalyst Launches One-of-a-kind Portable Synthesis Reactor for Utilising CO2 emissions

UP Catalyst Launches One-of-a-kind Portable Synthesis Reactor for Utilising CO2 emissions.

UP Catalyst, an Estonian clean technology company, has transformed its sustainable carbon material production into a portable container unit. The new setup utilises 3.7 tons of industrial CO₂ per every ton of critical battery raw materials produced. With the introduction of the Generation 2 reactor, UP Catalyst has achieved a significant milestone in scaling up their technology, enabling the production of essential materials on a ton-scale. 

Emerging from research conducted at the University of Tartu, the engineers at UP Catalyst have spent years developing the most efficient method for harnessing CO₂ emissions to produce critical raw materials, such as graphite, for electric vehicle batteries. “When scaling up, you scale both the good and the bad”, explained UP Catalyst’s production manager, Sander Trofimov. “Therefore, you cannot scale from kg-scale production to full size factory as there are many intermediate steps where you can fail. The GEN2 reactor is one of these intermediate steps on our way to satisfying European demand for sustainable carbon materials”. 

 
UP Catalyst’s graphite carbon footprint produced on a ton-scale marks just 0.07 kg of CO₂ emitted per kg of material produced, versus 13.8 kg of CO₂ per kg that is the industry average. For carbon nanotubes the difference is even bigger – 0.7 kg for UP Catalyst versus 170 kg of CO₂ per kg which is emitted by conventional production methods. This is the first portable synthesis reactor that enables the production of carbon materials with a carbon-neutral footprint, thus relieving EU dependence on foreign fossil fuel based imports.  

The system is also attractive for industrial partners seeking to utilise their CO₂ emissions, potentially eliminating the need to purchase allowances from the EU ETS or alleviating the burden of carbon taxes.  

Dr Gary Urb, CEO of UP Catalyst, said:

By 2030, the EU will require 3 million tons of carbon materials for EV batteries.

“Despite the potential to utilise 11 million tons of CO₂ through existing technology to meet this demand, the EU invests into storing its CO₂ underground and relies on importing fossil-based carbon materials from China,”

“While the current scale may not fully meet the demand, ultimately, the pace of expansion comes down to the investment decision of industrial partners and the EU legislation, which allows us to scale up faster. The technology is there, and the plan is to scale up further to utilise at least 200 thousand tons of CO₂ annually by 2030,” adds Urb. Innar Kaasik, the COO of renewable energy production company Enefit Green remarked: “If there was a green technology at scale that enables us to lower our carbon emissions while meeting our production needs, we would definitely look into partnership. Collaborations like these are crucial for achieving both environmental and industrial goals.” 

The development of the container reactor received significant support from the EIT Raw Materials and European partners, including Riga Technical University and the Research Institute of Sweden, who contributed to the design and construction of the reactor. The University of Bologna conducted material characterization, while UniverCell Holding GmbH and Bettery tested battery cells using CO₂-based carbon materials. The official GEN2 reactor launch will take place on the 23^rd of May at 12.15pm during the flagship tech event Latitude59 in Tallinn, Estonia.

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UP Catalyst Launches One-of-a-kind Portable Synthesis Reactor for Utilising CO2 emissions.