NCF develops a system that dissociates CO2 and H2O into Syngas and Oxygen using concentrated solar energy. The obtained syngas is then converted into liquid fuels or methanol an excellent alternative fuel and the one of the building block in many chemical processes. The oxygen can be used for clean fuel combustion. The system is self-contained extracting all necessary energy for the process from the solar energy. Eventually the product will be in the form of large plants installed in high solar radiation areas producing hundreds of thousands of tons of fuel per year.

Background: High petroleum costs coupled with major environmental concerns have pushed researchers to search for alternative and renewable sources of energy. Biomass represents an abundant sustainable resource for energy production. Bio- and thermo-chemical conversion schemes often result in formation of energy-dense gases from biomass. Since as much as 30% of our energy consumption is in the form of liquid transportation fuels high value is achieved by producing liquid fuels these from gaseous feedstock in a renewable way such as with microorganisms.

NCSU is licensing a novel metal oxides substrate for use in chemical looping combustion with superior activity and attrition. Background: Recent strategies to trap CO2 include chemical looping combustion or gasification (CLC or CLG). These processes utilize transition metal oxides to transfer oxygen from air or water to the combusting fuel thus converting into useful fuel resources. However for commercial scale applications it is imperative that these metal oxides be cost-effective with low attrition and possess high redox reactivity and structural/chemical stability.

Background: The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a method for photocatalytically reducing CO2 to CO at unprecedented reaction rates. Technology Description: In a reverse water gas shift reaction CO2 is reduced to water and carbon monoxide (CO). The CO generated by this reaction is a key component in synthesis gas also called syngas which can be converted to liquid fuels using existing technologies. This endothermic reaction must be driven by outside energy.

Producing synthetic fuel from CO2 using renewable heat sources - NewCO2Fuels (NCF) is developing an innovative cost competitive self-sufficient system to produce fuel from CO2 and renewable energy. The core technology is a high temperature driven CO2 and water dissociation process which produces syngas (mixture of CO and H2 from which different synthetic fuels can be produced. NCF innovative and modular product converts CO2 and H2O into syngas (a mixture of CO and H2) using high temperature heat as the single source of energy to drive the process.

Background: The solar thermochemical reactor represents a major advance in technology that provides a revolutionary and transformational approach using abundant solar resources to produce hydrogen. The thermochemical reaction produces hydrogen using concentrated solar energy as the main energy source and water and carbon dioxide as the feedstock. This reaction recycles carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide which is a component of syngas. The solar reactor uses concentric cylinders for effective heat recuperation while simultaneously conducting the reduction and oxidation reactions.