Early-stage evaluation of emerging CO utilization technologies at low technology readiness levels

Most CO 2 utilization technologies are at low technology readiness levels (TRLs). Given the large number of potential technologies, screening to identify the most promising ones should be conducted before allocating large R&D investment. As these technologies exhibit different levels of technical maturity, a systematic, TRL-dependent evaluation procedure is needed which can also account for the quality and availability of data. We propose such a systematic and comprehensive evaluation procedure. The procedure consists of three steps: primary data preparation, secondary data calculation, and performance indicator calculation. The procedure depends on the type of CO 2 utilization technology (thermochemical, electrochemical, or biological conversion) as well as the TRL (2-4). We suggest databases, methods, and computer-aided tools that support the procedure. Through four case studies, we demonstrate the proposed procedure on emerging CO 2 utilization technologies, which are of different types and at various TRLs: electrochemical CO 2 reduction for production of ten chemicals (TRL 2); co-electrolysis of CO 2 and water for ethylene production (TRL 2-4); direct oxidation of CO 2 -based methanol for oxymethylene dimethyl ether (OME 1 ) production (TRL 4); and microalgal biomass co-firing for power generation (TRL 4). Three-step procedure for early-stage evaluation of CO 2 utilization technologies based on TRLs.