DeepSummary
In this episode, Sarah Lamaison, the CEO and co-founder of Dioxycle, discusses her company's novel technology that uses electrolysis to convert carbon emissions, water, and electricity into sustainable ethylene. Ethylene is a widely used organic chemical that serves as a precursor for various everyday products, including plastics, construction materials, and textile fibers like polyester. Sarah explains how Dioxycle's approach aims to decarbonize the highly carbon-intensive process of producing ethylene from fossil fuels, which currently accounts for around 1-2% of global emissions.
Sarah shares her background in CO2 electrolysis research at universities like Cambridge, Paris, and Stanford, which led her and her co-founder David Werkeli to establish Dioxycle. She highlights the company's integrated approach, innovating at multiple levels, including catalysts, membranes, and system design, to optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Dioxycle's goal is to achieve a cost point below fossil fuel prices without relying on carbon incentives or regulatory support.
Looking ahead, Sarah discusses the challenges of decarbonizing the embedded emissions from ethylene production and the need for chemical companies to transition to renewable power sources. Dioxycle is currently focused on deploying its first industrial pilot and expanding its team with industrial expertise to demonstrate the technology's viability and prepare for commercialization.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Dioxycle is developing a novel electrolysis technology to produce sustainable ethylene from carbon emissions, water, and electricity.
- Ethylene is a widely used organic chemical that serves as a precursor for various everyday products, including plastics, construction materials, and textile fibers like polyester.
- Dioxycle aims to decarbonize the highly carbon-intensive process of producing ethylene from fossil fuels, which currently accounts for around 1-2% of global emissions.
- The company has taken an integrated approach, innovating at multiple levels, including catalysts, membranes, and system design, to optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
- Dioxycle's goal is to achieve a cost point below fossil fuel prices without relying on carbon incentives or regulatory support.
- The company is focused on deploying its first industrial pilot and expanding its team with industrial expertise to demonstrate the technology's viability and prepare for commercialization.
- Chemical companies will need to transition to renewable power sources to leverage Dioxycle's electrolysis process effectively.
- Sarah emphasizes the importance of individual actions and lifestyle changes in addressing climate change, in addition to technological solutions.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We are developing breakthrough technologies to convert industrial carbon emissions to ethylene.“ by Sarah Lamaison
- “What is really unique about us is that we have taken a very integrated approach since the beginning. And we innovate at all levels, because to really reach the energy efficiency point, you need to reach, to make that cost efficient, you basically have to optimize the components themselves, but also all their interfaces, how they interface, how they integrate together.“ by Sarah Lamaison
- “We are really targeting a cost point below this fossil prices. So we are really talking here about a potential negative green premium.“ by Sarah Lamaison
- “Our goal is to make sure the P&L works, which I think is already very big. So we did this, and now we're like, whoever bears that capex is going to work out.“ by Sarah Lamaison
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Episode Information
My Climate Journey
Jason Jacobs, Cody Simms, Yin Lu
1/25/24
Sarah Lamaison is the CEO and Co-founder of Dioxycle.
Dioxycle is developing technology to produce sustainable ethylene from recycled carbon emissions. Ethylene is the world's most used organic chemical and it's a precursor to many everyday products including construction materials, plastics, and textile fibers. Indeed, it's a core feedstock for polyester.
Ethylene is also an enormous market at well over $100 billion. We were excited to learn from Sarah about Dioxycle as an example of a startup leveraging electrolysis to convert electricity, water, and carbon emissions into low carbon chemicals. Dioxycle announced a Series A of financing earlier this year with investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital and Gigascale.
In this episode, we cover:
- [02:00]: An overview of Dioxycle
- [04:37]: Sarah's background in CO2 electrolysis
- [06:41]: Ethylene's role in everyday products, including polyester fabrics
- [11:02]: Dioxycle's novel carbon electrolysis technology for converting emissions into ethylene
- [17:53]: The challenge of decarbonizing ethylene's embedded emissions
- [23:14]: Dioxycle's goal of cost-competitive production below fossil prices
- [25:24]: Current trends and challenges in sustainable ethylene production
- [28:26]: The need for renewable power sources for Dioxycle's electrolysis process
- [30:19]: Dioxycle's focus on deploying an industrial pilot and team expansion
- [33:49]: Key global centers for ethylene production
- [34:36]: Dioxycle's vision as a trusted tech provider in emissions recycling
Episode recorded on Dec 14, 2023 (Published on Jan 25, 2024)
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