Development of Advanced Catalysts to Store Renewable Energy by Converting CO2

Reduction of greenhouse gases such as CO2 requires enhancing the way how we store and use carbon sources. As the same time, the need of replacing non-renewable energy sources with renewables such as the wind and solar is growing. Therefore, due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, a combined way to solve both issues is in demand. Among the possible solutions solar fuels production mainly methane by the Power to Gas (P2G) process (from renewable H2 and CO2) enables to solve both long-term as well as large-scale energy storage and transportation problems. Solar or renewable fuels are mainly synthetic hydrocarbons that derive from hydrogen (from water electrolysis using surplus renewable electricity) and the CO2 (from industries and captured). Possible examples of the fuels which can be produced using this process include methanol, methane, and liquid hydrocarbons. Compared amongst, those, methane is the most promising solution. Methane can be prepared with a single reaction (Sabatier reaction), has higher energy density and can be easily distributed using the existing natural gas network.