Carbon capture pioneers honoured
13 May 2025
UP Catalyst, Far Eastern New Century Corporation, and Oxylus Energy were recognised at the Best CO2 Utilisation 2025 Innovation Award for transforming carbon emissions into sustainable products.
Some 230 participants and 45 speakers attended this year’s Innovation Award ceremony, held as part of the CO2-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2025 held in Cologne and online.
Six nominees presented their CCU technologies to an audience of international specialists voting.
The winner was Estonian company UP Catalyst in recognition of its development of battery-grade graphite derived from CO2 emissions.
Its process utilises molten salt CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion technology to convert CO2 emissions into durable carbon materials, including graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
The firm claims the lowest energy consumption per tonne of graphite produced, enabling continuous production of carbon materials at 500 and 750 °C – signifcantly lower than the 2,800 °C conventionally required for graphite synthesis.
The new method uses about half the energy traditionally required and up to 20 times less energy for CNT production, says UP Catalyst.
Taiwan’s Far Eastern New Century Corporation received the second prize for its FENC TopGreen CO2-based technology, while US-based Oxylus Energy was awarded third prize for its electrochemical method for producing green methanol.
