Does Carbon Dioxide Turn into Diamond?…Alchemist 'CCU' [C Tech Now]

Perfume, Soap, Ethanol, Construction Materials, and Other Carbon-Based Products Commercialized One After Another
Complex Production Processes and High Production Costs
Still Limited to Small-Scale Pilot Production
Institutional Support Needed Like in North America and Europe

Founded in New York in 2017, Air Company captures carbon dioxide (CO2) and recycles it in various ways. The company converts carbon dioxide into ethanol, which is then mixed with essential oils or water to create perfumes. A 50ml bottle of perfume contains 3.6g of carbon dioxide. Air Company's flagship product, "Air Eau de Parfum," is sold at about 50% higher price than Coco Chanel's "No. 5." In addition to perfumes, Air Company also produces vodka and hand sanitizers using carbon dioxide.

Aether, a jewelry company established in New York in 2020, creates synthetic diamonds using captured carbon dioxide. The captured carbon is combined with green hydrogen to convert it into methane, which then undergoes a deposition process involving heat and pressure to be reborn as synthetic diamonds. The company claims that it removes 20 tons of carbon dioxide per carat, which is more than the carbon footprint of one American in a year. In May 2021, it also received the first Vegan certification. Skydiamond, headquartered in the UK, also produces diamonds using captured carbon dioxide.

Products Made from Carbon Commercialized One After Another... Global Investment Also Surges

For achieving carbon neutrality (Net Zero), it is as important to capture carbon from the air and make net emissions zero as it is to avoid emitting carbon. The related technology is Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). Depending on whether the captured carbon is stored or utilized, the technology is divided into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU).

CCU refers to technology that converts or directly uses high-concentration carbon dioxide captured from power plants or industries into useful substances. It is a more advanced technology than CCS, which stores captured carbon deep underground. CCU technologies, which had remained at the research and development (R&D) stage, have recently been commercialized one after another, attracting attention.

CCU is classified into chemical conversion, biological conversion, and mineral carbonation depending on the substance into which carbon dioxide is converted. When carbon dioxide is used as a reaction raw material, chemical conversion processes can produce various carbon compounds such as methane, methanol, gasoline, diesel, and basic chemical products; this is called chemical conversion.

A perfume product produced by the American startup Air Company using carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology.

Biological conversion involves biologically fixing carbon dioxide to produce microalgae biomass, which is then used as biofuel or bio-materials. Mineral carbonation is a technology that converts carbon dioxide into carbonate form, mineralizes it, and produces chemical products.

According to the Korea CCUS (K-CCUS) Promotion Group, as of 2020, about 70 diverse CCU projects are underway worldwide. In recent years, global interest in the climate crisis and carbon neutrality has increased, leading to a significant rise in CCU development projects and investment.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global investment in technologies utilizing captured carbon surged from $4 million in 2015 to $484 million (approximately 665 billion KRW) in 2022. This accounts for about 21% of the total CCUS investment (including project development) of $2.299 billion (approximately 3.1588 trillion KRW) in 2022.

Major countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany have already commercialized some technologies. In January, Bloomberg reported various companies, including Air Company mentioned earlier, that have commercialized actual products using captured carbon.

CleanO2, located in Calgary, Canada, uses carbon captured from building heating boilers to produce soap raw materials. Newlight Technologies, a startup in California, directly captures carbon from the air and converts it into bioplastics. Germany's Covestro AG produces various carbon compounds such as automotive exterior materials, medical devices, and stadium roofs using raw materials derived from fossil fuels.

LanzaTech, headquartered in Illinois, USA, developed technology in 2010 to produce ethanol using carbon-eating bacteria. Although this technology did not receive much attention at the time, it has recently gained interest as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). LanzaTech has signed fuel supply contracts with Japanese airlines, and its subsidiary LanzaJet plans to start commercial-scale SAF production this year. The ethanol produced by LanzaTech is also converted into polyester and used to make Lululemon shorts, Zara dresses, and H&M yoga wear.

Synthetic diamonds produced using carbon dioxide captured by the American jewelry company Aether.

Glenwood Mason Supply in Brooklyn produces construction materials using captured carbon. When CarbonQuest, a partner company, collects carbon from residential buildings, Glenwood Mason Supply compresses it into carbon powder similar to dry ice. This technology uses the technology of the startup CarbonCure.

The carbon powder produced in this way is mixed with cement and sand to make bricks. Since 2020, about 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide have been used in brick production through this method. Amazon purchased 50,000 bricks from this company when building a logistics warehouse in New York in 2022.

Government Policy Support Needed... Market Expected to Grow Rapidly After 2030s

However, such success stories are limited, and most CCU technologies face difficulties in commercialization. Even successful cases are understood to remain at the small-scale pilot production stage. CCU technology involves complex production processes and high production costs, so economic feasibility is still lacking.

Government policies are expected to play a key role in creating an initial market for CCU. Institutional support such as public procurement, mandatory use, economic incentives, and certification is necessary.

In the United States, under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted in 2022, a tax credit of $60 per ton of captured carbon dioxide is available. Additionally, under the "Clean Fuels & Products Shot" policy implemented in May 2023, synthetic fuels made from carbon can receive additional support. In the European Union (EU), under the "Fit For 55" policy, the mandatory blending ratio of synthetic aviation fuel will increase from 0.7% in 2030 to 28% in 2050. The concentration of CCU commercialization cases in North America and Europe is closely related to such government policies.

There is a wide variation in forecasts regarding the future size of the CCU market. This is because a clear concept of the CCU market has not been established and the scope of product groups differs among research organizations. National greenhouse gas reduction policies are also a major variable affecting the CCU market. Nevertheless, overall, the market is expected to grow significantly in the 2030s and 2040s.

Market research firm Global CO2 Initiative (GCI) predicts that the CCU market will range from at least $178 billion (approximately 244 trillion KRW) to a maximum of $837 billion (approximately 1,150 trillion KRW) by 2030, with CO2 utilization reaching 7.2 billion tons. Lux Research forecasts the CCU market size to reach $550 billion (approximately 755 trillion KRW) by 2040.

The Center For Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) offers the most optimistic outlook, predicting the CCU market size to be $1.157 trillion and utilization volume to be $10.3 billion by 2030.

Source: K-CCUS Promotion Group