Chemicals are the foundation of society
The simple truth is that chemicals are the foundation of modern society. The trillion-dollar chemical value chain starts with just a few raw materials: petroleum, natural gas, and air. From these few ingredients we derive useful base chemicals like hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, aromatics, and olefins. These molecules are then used to produce fuel, fertilizer, nylon for clothing, light-weight plastic components for cars, and even cosmetics. The processes that power the chemical value chain are almost entirely powered by burning fossil fuels. Currently combustion in this hard-to-abate sector is responsible for more than a gigaton of carbon emissions every year.
But Syzygy is changing that.
The Syzygy Vision—change the chemical industry
Electrification
Syzygy is commercializing a completely new type of chemical reactor that uses light instead of heat to drive chemical reactions. It eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels to power foundational chemical reactions and replaces that combustion with light from LEDs and renewable electricity. We are electrifying chemical manufacturing. This provides industry a path for continuing to produce the materials that form the foundation of society with lower carbon emissions.
Affordability—Eliminating the need for a green premium
Not only does a traditional thermal reactor rely on fossil fuel combustion, but it has to be built out of incredibly strong alloy materials to handle the required temperatures and pressures. One such material is called Incalloy 800 HT and comes in at a rough cost point of $45,000 USD per ton. In contrast to this, Syzygy photoreactors can be built from inexpensive, widely available materials like glass and aluminum. This significantly reduces reactor cost.
If carbon pricing is enacted, this carbon tax will force the cost of fossil fuels higher. As long as fossil fuels are used to drive chemical reactors, operating costs will continue to rise. Because Syzygy photoreactors are designed to run on renewable electricity and light instead of heat from combustion, they have the potential to reduce or eliminate any associated carbon tax. Our goal is to produce reliable photoreactors that produce chemicals at a price point that eliminates the need for customers to pay a green premium for decarbonized products.
Molecules we are targetting
Syzygy is first going to market with three target reactions using one core reactor design. Our Zero-Emissions Hydrogen Photoreactor will produce hydrogen and nitrogen from ammonia and renewable electricity. Our Low-Emissions Hydrogen Photoreactor will produce syngas from water and methane, which can then be converted to hydrogen and a small amount of carbon dioxide for sequestration or utilization. We are also pursuing methanol and synfuel production through our CO2-to-X Carbon Dioxide Converter using the same basic photoreactor design.
For more details, take a look at the Syzygy R&D roadmap.
hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, olefins, aromatics
Curious about the role the chemical industry plays in your daily life? You might be surprised by all the products you use and rely on every day that are made possible by the chemical industry.
Follow these links to learn more: