Carbon Recycling International: turning CO2 into fuel

With demand for fuel rising at the same pace as carbon dioxide emissions, many companies are trying to solve these two problems in a single stroke. Now, the first commercial plant capable of recycling carbon dioxide into fuel is about to go into production.

In the often-heated debate about climate change and the cutting of carbon dioxide emissions, it may take a cool-headed CEO, leading a company located in one of the coldest countries on Earth, to make a decisive impact.

After having spent most of his professional career in sunny California, Mr K-C Tran moved to Iceland a couple of years ago to become one of the founders of Carbon Recycling International (CRI).

This teams two Icelanders and two Americans who envisioned the same business model: to capture carbon dioxide from the flue stack emissions of industrial plants and to convert it into renewable methanol by using sustainable energy. And as the company name indicates, their ambitions for CRI are not limited to Iceland.

Rich in resources

Of French-Vietnamese extraction, as he describes himself, Mr Tran is a firm believer in ‘walking the walk and talking the talk’. However, this is one of the rare occasions when Mr Tran has felt inclined to give an interview and to offer his own key insights into the success factors for a company that not only has cracked the chemical equation for recycling carbon dioxide into fuel but also has proved to be capable of putting research into practice, with its first commercial-scale plant with an annual capacity of 5 million litres scheduled to come on line shortly.

What is your professional background?
‘When I entered the energy sector as a young engineer, the first wave in environmental protection took place: to cut back acid rain. I worked on an innovation to produce coal with a low amount of sulphur in it so coal-fired plants would meet emission limits. All four founders of CRI have a background in the energy sector. Also, one is now the owner of a paper recycling company.’

Can you explain your outlook on renewable energy?
‘It is primarily dominated by biomass at the moment. However, the available amount of this material depends on the weather, the seasons, etc. You need water, sun and land. Not every country is rich in those resources. Like Iceland, we cannot plant corn or beets here so it’s very difficult to make ethanol. But we have abundant supplies of renewable energy.'

Almost pure CO2

'If you look outside, you can see the steam over there from the geothermal power plant. The energy in that steam has been taken out, but it still contains gases with about 90% of carbon dioxide, so it is a very rich source that is currently untapped. It is also a stable source. The price of carbon dioxide doesn’t change with the weather as biomass does. And no matter what we do, the end state of our industrial process, especially when it comes to combustion and transport, is carbon dioxide.’ 

How has CRI developed since starting up in 2006?
‘First, we established the principles to turn carbon dioxide into fuel, filed patents and looked at the scalability of the process. Second, we worked on a design for the plant, what the standard size should be, the financial requirements, and how to make the product economically viable.'

'This whole process is like a Rubik’s Cube. You have to look at it from many angles: capital and operational expenditure, logistics, fuel quality directives, incentives, and the acceptance of our fuel by oil companies and the public. There are still lots of barriers because the transportation market and civilisation as a whole are based on fossil fuel. All the rules, laws, technologies – they are all integrated. So you need to move in a certain rhythm to get all the pieces together. It is like a lock, and we have to unlock it.’

Large investments

Who is funding CRI?
‘More than 20 angel investors and two venture capital firms – Titan and Audur. We have had several rounds of funding that are getting progressively bigger. Of course, acquiring capital became more difficult during the crash, especially when it came down to building the plant.’

How about Landsbanki, one of the Icelandic banks that have gone bankrupt?
‘Landsbanki was actually an angel investor and we have a long history together, both in terms of banking as in investments. We have been transferred to the new Landsbanki, which is named the New Bank of Iceland. Potentially, this could become a large investor.’ (...)

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