{"id":173140,"date":"2026-02-13T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T06:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=173140"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:47:14","slug":"how-chinese-scientists-made-petrol-building-blocks-with-co2-water-and-sunlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/how-chinese-scientists-made-petrol-building-blocks-with-co2-water-and-sunlight\/","title":{"rendered":"How Chinese scientists made petrol building blocks with CO2, water and sunlight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Chinese scientists have developed a plant-inspired method to convert carbon dioxide and water into valuable chemicals, such as the building blocks for petrol, by using solar energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Swiss
Swiss firm Synhelion set up the world\u2019s first industrial-scale solar fuel plant. \u00a9 Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The process \u2013 inspired by photosynthesis, where plants harness sunlight, carbon dioxide and water to generate energy \u2013 could help produce a sustainable source of fuel<\/a>, the researchers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said they had developed a material able to store small amounts of electrical energy to help efficiently drive chemical reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When paired with catalysts that converted carbon dioxide into various chemicals, it enabled the solar-driven production of carbon monoxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could be further converted into fuel, offering a possible alternative for hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation and shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis work establishes a bioinspired charge reservoir strategy for efficient carbon dioxide photoreduction, providing a universal approach to solar fuel production,\u201d the team wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications<\/em><\/a> last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photocatalytic, or light-activated, conversion of carbon dioxide has attracted interest as a promising way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate resource constraints, according to the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One promising application is in the production of solar fuel \u2013 or synthetic fuels produced using solar energy that can mimic the properties of fossil fuels \u2013 making them compatible with existing fossil fuel-run infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could be done through the conversion of carbon dioxide into other chemicals such as carbon monoxide, which can be processed into liquid hydrocarbons to make fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The energy from the sun is inexhaustible but the challenge for scientists is how efficiently to convert that into fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One company attempting to do this is the Swiss clean energy company Synhelion, which set up the world\u2019s first industrial-scale solar fuel plant in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous systems to convert carbon dioxide relied on organic sacrificial agents, which had improved photocatalytic performance in recent decades, the Chinese team said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, they were consumed permanently during the process, making it less sustainable and more costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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