Sustainable Catalyst Platform for Carbon Conversion
1 October 2026
Affiliation
NTU
Focus topic
CO2-to-Chemicals and Fuels
Sustainable carbon conversion through advanced catalyst technology platforms
Summary
Converting captured CO₂ back into methane enables renewable hydrogen to be stored and transported through existing natural gas infrastructure. This catalyst achieves that using inexpensive transition metals rather than costly noble metals such as ruthenium or palladium. The invention is an advanced CO₂ methanation catalyst that converts waste CO₂ into methane, so captured carbon becomes a sellable fuel.
Achievements: At an optimised condition, the spinel signature disappears and the catalyst achieves the highest CO₂ conversion with 100% CH₄ selectivity, producing no detectable CO by-product. The catalyst also shows no agglomeration during prolonged operation, a stability attributed to strong metal-support interactions.
Performance has been demonstrated across a broad operating window: gas hourly space velocities (GHSV) of 5,000-30,000 mL g⁻¹ cat h⁻¹, temperatures of 100-700°C, pressures of 0.1-10 MPa, and H₂:CO₂ feed ratios ranging from 1:1 to 8:1.
Carbon abatement potential comes from displacing fossil natural gas with fuel made from captured CO₂, and scales with conversion rate, methane selectivity and the carbon intensity of the hydrogen input.
What makes this novel compared to best-in-class technology?
Existing methanation catalysts either convert too little CO₂ at low temperature or produce unwanted carbon monoxide when run hotter. This catalyst is designed to avoid both faults, and is made by a simple, well-established chemical route that should scale readily.
TRL Level
1-3
Relevant for
Synthetic natural gas producers, biogas upgrading plants iIndustrial emitters with CO₂ and H₂ available
About
Inventors: Song Pengfei, Xu Zhichuan
Affiliation: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
Contact NTU for licensing opportunities and more information.
Please quote ID ref [2025-398] in your email.