Control #: 3234-1556 new award to the regents of the university of california, LOS angeles DE-FOA-0003234: grid-free renewable energy enabling new ways to economical liquids and long-term storage…

Control #: 3234-1556 new award to the regents of the university of california, LOS angeles DE-FOA-0003234: grid-free renewable energy enabling new ways to economical liquids and long-term storage (greenwells) project title: e-CO 2 lumn: the dynamic CO 2 electrolyzer column description: ''storing renewable electricity into liquid fuel is a major objective for the energy transition. Current CO2 electrolyzer designs are limited to low CO2 one-pass conversions and highly diluted product streams that require energy intensive downstream separations. The project develops a novel design of a CO2 electrolyzer prototype producing a high concentration liquid fuel with a much lower energy requirement for separation and purification than current electrolyzers. The control of the reactor is dynamic, with machine-learning based predictive control systems that we have developed at ucla. The catalyst composition will be designed and optimized to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. The proposed team is highly complementary, bringing all methods required for the success of project: electrocatalysis, catalysts design, reactor design, separation, process control, process simulation. The proposed design also has a potential disruptive impact on the market place. From its modular design and dynamic operation capabilities, the proposed process is extremely well suited to intermittent renewable energy (wind and solar) and proposes a technology for long and medium term storage of these energies into liquid fuels, without injection of electrical energy in the grid. The project hence clearly addresses the program objectives in order to increase the deployment of renewable energy and bypass the wait time for interconnection to the electric grid. The project will therefore bring a competitive advantage to the united states, by providing a novel and unique technology for electrical energy storage into liquid fuel, which is a key requirement for the development of renewable energies.''