The team is conducting research and development on innovative technologies for a CO₂ zero emission and “Beyond Zero” society. Our aim is to develop and implement innovative technologies that enable the increased use of CO₂ -neutral resources, CO₂ recycling, and carbon fixation. 

Our main research themes are

1. Innovative resource utilization technologies and chemicals production technologies from CO₂
2. CO₂ separation, recovery, and fixation technologies
3. Negative emission technologies based on enhanced mineralization and biotechnologies for CDR. Furthermore, we aim to globalize our research and development and implement it in society by promoting international collaboration.

CCU: Chemical looping combustion

Chemical looping combustion has an advantage of separating CO₂ inherently and thus does not need a CO₂ separation step. We are developing a biomass chemical looping combustion process that produces highly concentrated CO₂ and power. The highly pure and concentrated CO₂ can be used as a feedstock for carbon neutral chemical production by an FT-synthesis process via an rWGS reaction. The concentrated CO₂ can also be permanently removed from the atmosphere through an enhanced mineralization process.

CDR: Enhanced mineralization

CO₂ mineralization is an effective path to permanently remove and lock CO₂ from the atmosphere, but a low CO₂ -mineral reaction rate and a high-energy intensity requirement are primary bottlenecks. Our team is developing a fast and efficient process-enhanced-mineralization (PEM) technology by combining biomass chemical looping combustion with a high pressure carbonation process. The combustion of biomass, which is a natural CO₂ DAC process, using chemical looping technology generates >99% CO₂ steam and power. The high pressure carbonation process uses this concentrated CO₂ and power to convert minerals to carbonates in few hours. The whole process is fast and energy neutral, making it a core negative emission technology.