← No. 032 SAT 31 OCT 2026

A water‑fed device makes ethylene using roughly two‑fifths the electricity.

Ethylene electrolyzer

A research team built a solid‑state cell that turns carbon monoxide into ethylene while feeding only humidified gases and water, not a caustic liquid. By coupling the reaction to hydrogen oxidation instead of oxygen making—and adding a cation‑functionalized layer—the device ran at 1.2 V and 100 mA/cm² with over 80 hours of steady output and 30 start–stop cycles. Under those conditions it used about 49 GJ of electricity per tonne of ethylene, versus over 130 GJ for earlier designs.

Why it’s interesting

Fig. 032 Two halos scale the electricity per tonne of ethylene: about 49 GJ here versus over 130 GJ for oxygen‑evolving designs.

The longer version

Ethylene is the backbone of many plastics. Electrifying its production matters because the usual process is hot and energy‑hungry. On February 17, 2026, a team reported a solid‑state cell that makes ethylene from carbon monoxide while feeding only humidified gases and water—no caustic liquid anolyte. They pair the ethylene‑forming step with hydrogen oxidation instead of the usual oxygen‑making step, which slashes the needed push.

With a polyacrylate cation‑functionalized layer, the device ran at 1.2 volts and 100 mA per square centimetre, kept steady for over 80 hours, and tolerated 30 on/off power cycles with 12‑hour rests. At those operating conditions, its electrolyzer electricity demand was about 49 gigajoules per tonne of ethylene, compared with over 130 GJ per tonne for oxygen‑evolving designs. These figures refer to the electrolyzer’s electricity, not a whole plant’s footprint.

A water‑fed device makes ethylene using roughly two‑fifths the electricity.

Why it’s interesting

The longer version

See how we got here

Sources