Low-Emissions Chemicals & Plastics
Low-Emissions Chemicals & Plastics
Chemicals & Plastics: Decarbonizing the DNA of Modern Life
From the fertilizers that grow our food to the plastics in nearly every product we purchase, chemicals are the invisible building blocks of the modern economy, touching 96% of all manufactured goods. Unfortunately, this ubiquity comes with a heavy environmental burden: the chemical industry is responsible for 5% of global energy emissions. Decarbonizing chemicals is especially tough because production isn’t just energy-intensive; it also relies on fossil fuels as a direct feedstock, embedding carbon into the products themselves. The problem is highly concentrated in a few key molecules — ammonia, ethylene, propylene, and methanol — which account for two thirds of the industry's climate impact. But that concentration is itself an opportunity: reinvent how we make these core molecules, and we can create a ripple effect that cleans up supply chains across almost every product on Earth.
Emissions at stake in 2050: 1.9 Gigatons
Innovation Imperatives
Innovation Imperatives
Critical needs that can help accelerate the path to net zero
Alternative Production Pathways
Develop novel synthesis of chemicals and plastics from scalable clean feedstocks
Today’s chemical production relies heavily on fossil fuels, locking in demand for oil and gas and requiring energy-intensive refining. New pathways that use scalable clean feedstocks — such as bio-based inputs, captured CO₂, or waste-derived materials — can deliver the same essential chemicals and plastics with a fraction of the carbon footprint. Innovating these methods to be cost-competitive, lower-emission, and compatible with existing supply chains is key to cleaning up chemical manufacturing.
Distillation and Separation Alternatives
Replace energy-intensive distillation and refining in chemical processing with lower-energy separation technologies
Distillation is the workhorse of chemical processing. It separates components of a liquid mixture by heating them to selectively vaporize and then re-condense them based on their different boiling points. Newer methods (like membranes, filters, and special solvents) can separate chemicals just as well — but with much less heat and energy. If these technologies are improved, they could cut energy use and emissions across the chemical industry, while also saving money and making production more efficient.
Easy-to-Deploy Hydrogen Infrastructure
Develop low-cost hydrogen transportation and storage solutions
Low-emissions hydrogen is a critical feedstock for low-emissions chemical production, but its use is limited by major infrastructure challenges. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule, making it prone to leakage from existing pipelines and storage systems — creating safety risks and even additional greenhouse gas impacts, since hydrogen itself contributes to warming as a secondary greenhouse gas. Overcoming these hurdles will require innovations in pipeline materials, modular compression and liquefaction systems, underground and cryogenic storage, and safe on-site generation. Scaling these solutions could cut costs, reduce leakage, and make low-carbon hydrogen reliably available, accelerating emissions reductions across the chemical sector and beyond.
Moonshots
Moonshots
High-risk, high-reward innovations that could radically reshape our path to net zero
Scalable Geologic Hydrogen
Scale discovery, stimulation, and extraction of natural hydrogen
Imagine if Earth were naturally producing a vast untapped supply of clean fuel, just waiting to be discovered. This moonshot invites innovators to explore whether geologic hydrogen does in fact exist in extractable formations, and at high enough concentrations to be economically viable. The undertaking here is not just to find and tap into these massive underground deposits, but to potentially speed up and emulate the natural reactions that generate them. This requires pioneering a new era of geological exploration and responsible extraction technologies. The challenge may even extend to converting the hydrogen into more stable carriers (like ammonia) to simplify transport. This breakthrough could unlock a powerful new source of clean energy, fundamentally changing our energy landscape.
Ultra-Low-Cost Electrolysis
Make critical molecules with clean electricity at a fraction of today's cost
What if we could create the essential molecules for our economy, from fuels to fertilizers, directly from water and air using nothing but clean electricity? The quest: make electrolysis so efficient and inexpensive that it outcompetes fossil fuels as the primary pathway for chemical production. This requires a new generation of electrolyzers — ideally built with earth-abundant catalysts, advanced membranes, and high-power-efficiency designs. This breakthrough would unlock electrification of the chemical industry, enabling us to produce vast volumes of low-cost green hydrogen and other foundational chemicals.
Tech Categories
Tech Categories
Groupings of climate technologies
| Cluster Name | Readiness | |
|---|---|---|
| Alternative Refrigerants | Commercial | |
Alternative refrigerants are low- or zero-emission chemicals used in cooling systems to replace traditional refrigerants that have high global warming potential. | ||
| Biomass-Based Production | Commercial | |
Biomass-based production converts plant materials, agricultural residues, and organic waste into chemicals through biological or thermochemical processes. | ||
| Hydrogen-Based Production | Commercial | |
Hydrogen-based production uses clean hydrogen and captured carbon to create ammonia, methanol, and other chemicals. | ||
| Waste-Based Production | Pilot | |
Waste-based production transforms discarded materials into chemicals through advanced recycling technologies and chemical transformations. |
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