For many years, engineers have suggested sucking up the excess carbon dioxide in our planet’s atmosphere to battle climate change, a moonshot idea that has as many supporters as it does skeptics.
A value proposition that could make the idea far more grounded: what if the captured carbon dioxide could be converted into a different form of energy, treating the atmosphere like a giant power storage system?
Now, a New York City-based startup, called Aircela, has come up with an intriguing contraption that can trap carbon dioxide from regular air and turn it into usable gasoline.
It’s a clever, three-step process that is firmly rooted in science. First, the carbon dioxide is separated out from the air through a process known as direct air capture, roughly the same that climate change-fighting technology scientists are studying in their efforts to sequester greenhouse gas emissions, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Through splitting water via electrolysis, the machine simultaneously produces hydrogen, which is then mixed with the captured carbon dioxide to synthesize methanol. Finally, the methanol is converted into “motor-grade gasoline based on an established process,” Aircelo explains on its website.
“The result is a fossil-free, drop-in fuel that works in existing engines, no modifications required,” the company claims.
While it may sound too good to be true — who wouldn’t want a refrigerator-sized machine pumping out gasoline, when the price at the pump is so high? — the approach comes with some serious asterisks, as Jalopnik points out.
For one, Aircelo’s machine can only produce a single gallon a day, which means you won’t be able to rely on it to drive more than a handful of miles.
And as Aircelo admitted to The Autopian last year, it’s also a considerably energy-intensive process, requiring about twice as much energy going in as is trapped in the gasoline being produced. That means it’s also extremely inefficient, with Aircelo still struggling to breach 50 percent end-to-end power efficiency.
Nonetheless, the company claimed that using “standalone, off-grid, photovoltaic panels,” the machine would only need less than $1.50 per gallon in electricity alone.
The small startup is hoping to bring its machine to “select US markets starting in late 2026.” According to The Autopian, it could cost anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 per unit.
But given the many limitations involved, it’s likely targeting an extremely niche market. Prospective buyers would need to have access to a considerable amount of electricity, but also depend on a gasoline-based vehicle, rather than an electric one they could just charge with all that power.
“Unless you’re going to use the gas in something that can’t be replaced by battery electric, like a light plane, this makes no sense,” one Jalopnik reader argued. “So a very niche product. A remote farm can use the extra energy from its solar panels to distill some gas on the side for the crop duster.”
“This machine would be great in ‘Mad Max,’ but in our pre-apocalyptic world, not really,” another user wrote.
More on carbon capture: The Carbon Removal Industry Is Already Lagging Behind Where It Needs to Be
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