E-fuels (electro-fuels) are fuels produced from decarbonized electricity. They are alternatives to fossil fuels, for use in industry and transport, for example.
They can potentially be synthesized by direct electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2), captured in concentrated emissions from metallurgical plants, fermenters or cement works, or of carbon monoxide (CO). These are highly complex processes, due to the large number of electrons and protons involved, and require specific electrolyzers for gas conversion.
In partnership with TotalEnergies, the Chemistry of Biological Processes Laboratory at the Collège de France, headed by Prof. Marc Fontecave, has developed an original catalyst based on copper lightly doped with silver and gold, which enables CO to be converted into alcohols (ethanol and propanol) in such electrolyzers with record faradic yields (in excess of 70 %). E-ethanol is a fuel of general interest, while e-propanol can be used in the polymer industry.
The article presenting this work was published on March 12 2025 in Nature Materials under the title Incorporation of isolated Ag atoms and Au nanoparticles in copper nitride for selective CO electroreduction to multicarbon alcohols.
