A CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO HYDROGEN FOR DECARBONIZING OUR INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES.

While hydrogen is often presented as the cornerstone of the energy transition, its development raises numerous technical, economic and safety challenges. A new technology, based on recycling CO₂ from combustion fumes and converting it into e-fuels such as methanol, opens up a simpler, more pragmatic way of accelerating the decarbonization of industrial activities.

A simpler path to decarbonization 

• The CO₂ is no longer rejected, it is recovered. 
• The process is based on proven technological building blocks: electrolysis, catalysis and flue gas recycling processes. 

Integration is therefore less disruptive for operators than the outright abandonment of fossil fuel combustion in favor of an all-hydrogen economy. 

Reduced transport and storage risks 

Hydrogen has major risks due to its very low density and high flammability. INERIS reports point out that its storage imposes severe safety constraints (material embrittlement, explosion risks, leak detection)【INERIS, 2021】. Conversely, molecules such as methanol are liquids at room temperatureThey are well known to the chemical industry, and already have mastered storage and logistics standards【IEA, 2021】. This considerably reduces operational complexity and risks for operators. 

Technology complementary 

• The flue gas recycling process with electrolytic oxygen generator consumes the CO2 from combustion, produces methanol and generates the oxygen required for combustion and heat production.  
• This on-site production process eliminates the need to transport and store large quantities of hydrogen.  
• The methanol industry is already mature : numerous catalytic processes exist and global infrastructures for production, transport and use are in place (e.g. marine fuel, base chemicals)【Olah et al., 2018】. 

This gives rapid deployment to the CO₂ recycling solution. 

The limits of hydrogen 

Despite its theoretical advantages, hydrogen faces a number of obstacles: 

• No infrastructure : transport and distribution require colossal investments【Hydrogen Council, 2020】. 
• Security : risks of explosion and leaks (material embrittlement phenomenon)【INERIS, 2021】. 
• Competitiveness : cost still too high compared with alternatives such as methanol, ammonia or synthetic biofuels【ADEME, 2022】. 

Conclusion 

Rather than relying solely on hydrogen, decarbonization will also involve solutions pragmatic, cost-effective intermediaries. Recycling CO₂ from combustion fumes into e-methanol is a perfect illustration of this logic : 

• immediate reduction in emissions, 
• economic value, 
• mature and safe technologies. 

A strategy that combines industrial realism and energy transition.