At the 11th edition of the Conference on CO2-based Fuels and Chemicals held last week in Cologne, Germany, Arkeon, CellCO2 and CarbonBuilt were announced as the winners of the Best CO2 Utilization award.
The conference, known as one of the most esteemed CCU events worldwide, hosted nearly 250 participants from 30 different countries. During the Innovation Award Ceremony, 6 nominated projects had the chance to present their innovations in front of renowned international experts, while a jury of nearly 200 people selected the top 3 projects via live audience voting.
The first-place winner is the impressive CellCO2 project, developed by the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF). The CellCO2 product is a novel non-woven material made from cellulose fibers that are chemically modified with amines on the surface.
Due to its non-woven structure, this material has high air permeability, which grants it the remarkable capacity to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide while the air circulates through its fibers.
The runner-up is the Austrian revolutionary food producer Arkeon, which prides itself on using CO2 to create protein ingredients via sustainable bioprocesses.
The jury awarded them second place for their next-generation technology that uses captured carbon to create protein components through the process of fermentation and archaea microorganism activity.
Related: Decarb Conference Names 2023 CO2 Utilization Award Nominees
The outstanding ideas and projects of this company are paving the way for a new, climate-positive chapter in the food production industry.
The third winner of the award is Ultra-low Carbon Concrete by the American company CarbonBuilt. Their exceptional product has the potential to significantly increase sustainability in the construction industry by replacing cement with a mix of low-cost, low-emissions material gathered from industrial waste.
In order to harden and reach cement qualities, the mix captures CO2 through DAC methods or by collecting the emissions from on-site waste biomass incineration, helping to permanently remove and store the collected carbon.
Read more: 4 Corners Carbon Coalition Awards $150,000 To Direct Air Capture-To-Concrete Site
