{"id":177560,"date":"2026-06-11T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=177560"},"modified":"2026-06-03T16:42:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:42:37","slug":"szte-researchers-take-major-step-toward-industrial-co2-utilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/szte-researchers-take-major-step-toward-industrial-co2-utilization\/","title":{"rendered":"SZTE Researchers Take Major Step Toward Industrial CO2 Utilization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"Bal\u00e1zs
Bal\u00e1zs Endr\u0151di, and his SZTE research team \u00a9 University of Szeged<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A newly launched HU-RIZONT-supported research project at the University of Szeged could open up new possibilities for transforming industrial carbon dioxide emissions into valuable raw materials. At the heart of the initiative is the development of gas diffusion electrodes for CO\u2082 electrolysis that can operate reliably and maintain long-term stability.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally, the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide is attracting growing interest from both researchers and industry. The reason is straightforward: a technology that can efficiently and reliably convert CO\u2082 over the long term could make it possible to process this greenhouse gas directly at the point of emission. Such an approach would do more than simply prevent CO\u2082 from entering the atmosphere \u2013 it could also transform emissions into valuable industrial feedstocks, most notably carbon monoxide, a key building block used in a wide range of chemical processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A central objective of the project is to develop highly efficient and stable gas diffusion electrodes for carbon dioxide electrolysis capable of operating continuously for up to 5,000 hours. To support this work, researchers at the University of Szeged have been awarded HUF 399,174,676 through the 2025-1.2.1-HU-RIZONT International Excellence Research Cooperation Program, funded by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation through Hungary\u2019s National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the newly funded research program officially launched on March 1 this year, researchers at the University of Szeged have been laying its scientific foundations for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur work on the electrochemical conversion of CO\u2082 began about ten years ago at the University\u2019s Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science under the leadership of Csaba Jan\u00e1ky. We built everything from the ground up \u2013 developing our own systems and electrolyzer cells while also contributing to the broader scientific understanding needed to advance the field. Our first major breakthrough came when we became the first team in the world to develop and operate a stable multilayer electrolyzer architecture. From there, the next step was to establish methods for long-term operation and achieve performance levels that surpassed previously reported results. Another key milestone was the development of experimental systems that allow us to monitor the process over thousands of hours while keeping every parameter under precise control,\u201d said Bal\u00e1zs Endr\u0151di, the project\u2019s scientific lead<\/strong>, summarizing the team\u2019s progress so far.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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\"Bal\u00e1zs
Bal\u00e1zs Endr\u0151di, professional lead of the Industrial CO2 Utilization project \u00a9 University of Szeged<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

One of the greatest challenges in CO\u2082 electrolysis is achieving long-term operational stability. For the technology to become truly viable in industrial settings, the current duration of continuous operation \u2013 which remains limited to only a few thousand hours \u2013 must be extended significantly. That is why one of the main objectives of the three-year research program launched at SZTE in early March is to determine how the structure of the cathode influences both performance and durability, and then apply that knowledge to develop more advanced electrode designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the project, the Szeged research team will investigate several promising electrode concepts, including self-supporting catalyst layers and catalyst layers deposited directly onto ion-exchange membranes. The researchers will also examine how key structural characteristics \u2013 such as catalyst-layer porosity and incorporated polymer additives \u2013 influence the performance of CO\u2082 electrolysis. Ultimately, the goal is to translate these structure\u2013performance relationships into next-generation electrodes capable of operating continuously for at least 5,000 hours at industrially relevant current densities and with the level of energy efficiency required for real-world applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur newly launched project is strongly practice-oriented, and its success could directly influence how industry recycles and utilizes CO\u2082. It is easy to understand why this field is attracting so much attention worldwide. Beyond its clear environmental benefits, the technology could also provide a major incentive for industrial emitters: instead of paying carbon taxes, they may be able to convert carbon dioxide into a commercially valuable product. As with our previous work in this area, we plan to share our most important findings as the project progresses, and the first publication may appear as early as this year. By the end of the project, we expect to have built a knowledge base that can provide tangible value for industrial partners and help bring the technology closer to real-world application,\u201d Bal\u00e1zs Endr\u0151di<\/strong> concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Behind the project stands a strong institutional innovation ecosystem at the University of Szeged. The development of project concepts within the University\u2019s Center of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Research, Development, and Innovation (IKIKK) \u2013 including the CRUTCHES project (Gas Diffusion Electrodes for Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Conversion<\/em>) and the preparation of its grant proposal \u2013 was coordinated by the University of Szeged\u2019s Directorate-General for Strategy and Development in collaboration with its cluster management team. Their work helps transform promising scientific ideas into competitive international projects with the potential to shape the future of sustainable industrial innovation.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newly launched HU-RIZONT-supported research project at the University of Szeged could open up new possibilities for transforming industrial carbon dioxide emissions into valuable raw materials. At the heart of the initiative is the development of gas diffusion electrodes for CO\u2082 electrolysis that can operate reliably and maintain long-term stability. Globally, the electrochemical conversion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":177562,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Globally, the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide is attracting growing interest from both researchers and industry","footnotes":""},"categories":[5571],"tags":[10744,10416,25426,14144,10743],"supplier":[18485],"class_list":["post-177560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-co2-based","tag-carboncapture","tag-circulareconomy","tag-electrochemistry","tag-electrolysis","tag-useco2","supplier-university-of-szeged"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177560"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177570,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177560\/revisions\/177570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177560"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=177560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}