Clean fuel and chemical innovator OCOchem, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has secured a $2.5 million funding award from the DOE to further their collaboration in developing safer and more affordable methods for transporting clean hydrogen.
This award is part of a larger DOE initiative totaling $42 million to advance critical technologies in clean hydrogen production, storage, and deployment.
The ongoing partnership between OCOchem and PNNL, based in Richland, Washington, focuses on electrocatalytically producing formic acid, a chemical building block, from recycled carbon dioxide emissions, water, and clean electricity. PNNL is concurrently developing a technique to safely release clean hydrogen from formic acid. Building upon a previous grant-funded collaboration, this new funding represents a significant milestone in the journey towards a sustainable energy future.
Clean hydrogen is gaining traction as a viable solution for decarbonizing transportation, industry, and power generation sectors. It has the potential to serve as a versatile, carbon-free energy carrier derived from renewable resources. However, significant technological and economic hurdles must be overcome, with hydrogen storage and transport costs accounting for more than 70% of the overall clean hydrogen production and distribution supply chain.
OCOchem will utilize the funds to enhance and scale up its Carbon Flux Electrolyzer™, a device that converts recycled carbon dioxide emissions, water, and clean electricity into formic acid. By building the world’s largest CO2 electrolyzer, OCOchem aims to commercialize the technology while simultaneously addressing the challenge of hydrogen storage and transport. The formic acid produced in this process can serve as a non-flammable, energy-dense liquid carrier of clean hydrogen, making distribution safer and more cost-effective. PNNL, on the other hand, will scale its technology to create a hydrogen generator capable of releasing hydrogen from formic acid.
By integrating hydrogen production and storage into a single step while sequestering carbon dioxide, the collaboration between OCOchem and PNNL seeks to significantly enhance the safety and cost efficiency of the hydrogen supply chain across various applications. Their joint efforts aim to make clean hydrogen technologies economically viable, scalable, and accessible for widespread adoption, with both entities expecting their technologies to be ready for commercial use by early 2025.
According to OCOchem CEO and co-founder Todd Brix, their objective is to develop a liquid hydrogen carrier that enables safer and more cost-effective production and distribution of clean hydrogen, facilitating its usage in a wider range of applications. In doing so, they aim to contribute to the creation of a circular carbon economy, mitigating carbon dioxide buildup and reducing the cost of everyday consumer products. The collaboration also holds the potential to stimulate the local economy through the deployment of these groundbreaking technologies.
Founded in 2017, OCOchem is a venture-backed clean tech start-up specializing in the development and commercialization of technology that utilizes recycled carbon dioxide and water to electrochemically produce formates, formic acid, and clean hydrogen. The company’s principal R&D laboratories are located in Richland, Washington.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) leverages its expertise in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology, and data science to advance scientific knowledge and address challenges in sustainable energy and national security. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the DOE’s Office of Science, the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States.
