For decades, solar photovoltaics (PV) was a lab curiosity—expensive, inconsistent, and far from mainstream power generation. Today, it is the fastest-growing source of new electricity generation globally.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) electroreduction (CO₂E)—the process of using electricity to convert CO₂ into fuels and chemicals—may be standing at a similar inflection point.
A recent Nature Energy Perspective, “Translating insights from progress in photovoltaics to accelerate industrial-scale CO₂ electroreduction,” argues that CO₂ electrolysis can fast-track its path to commercialization by borrowing key lessons from the PV playbook.
Let’s unpack what that means—and why it matters.
The Promise and problem of CO₂ electroreduction
CO₂ electroreduction uses renewable electricity to convert CO₂ into valuable products such as:
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Formic acid (HCOOH)
- Ethylene (C₂H₄)
- Ethanol (EtOH)
In theory, this technology can lower the carbon intensity of chemical production, store renewable electricity in chemical bonds, and enable circular carbon economies.
In practice? It’s not commercially competitive yet.
Even under optimistic assumptions—50% energy efficiency and electricity at $50/MWh—the electricity cost alone for electrochemical ethylene can exceed $1,300 per ton. That’s higher than fossil-derived ethylene prices.
So while catalysts have improved and lab results look promising, industrial deployment demands something more than incremental performance gains.
It demands ecosystem maturity.
How photovoltaics crossed the commercialization chasm
PV didn’t succeed just because scientists built better solar cells.
It succeeded because the field did three crucial things:
1: Standardized testing conditions
Early PV research suffered from inconsistent measurements—different light spectra, intensities, temperatures. Results couldn’t be compared.
The solution?
- AM1.5G standard spectrum
- 1,000 W/m² irradiance
- 25°C operating temperature
Once everyone measured performance under the same conditions, benchmarking became meaningful.
2: Third-party certification
Institutions like NREL and Fraunhofer verified performance claims. Over time, product-level standards (IEC, UL) addressed durability and safety.
This built trust with investors, policymakers, and manufacturers.
Trust unlocked capital. Capital unlocked scale.
3: Coordinated ecosystem growth
PV growth was reinforced by:
- Feed-in tariffs (Germany)
- Renewable portfolio standards (U.S.)
- Manufacturing scale-up (China)
- Integrated value chains
Standardization + policy + manufacturing created the cost declines that led to grid parity.
Why CO₂ electrolysis is harder
If PV had one input (sunlight) and one output (electricity), CO₂E is multivariate chaos.
1: Variable feedstocks
CO₂ sources differ drastically:
- 99% purified CO₂ (CCUS streams)
- 15% CO₂ flue gas from coal plants
- ~30% CO₂ from cement and steel plants
- Direct air capture streams
Each contains different impurities (NOₓ, SOₓ, moisture, O₂), affecting performance.
There is no “AM1.5G” equivalent for CO₂ feedstocks—yet.
2: Multiple products
Unlike PV’s single performance metric (power conversion efficiency), CO₂E produces:
- C1 products (CO, HCOOH)
- C2 products (ethylene, ethanol)
- Potentially C3+ compounds
Each has different selectivity challenges, energy efficiency tradeoffs, separation costs, and market prices.
Standardizing evaluation across this diversity is far more complex.
3: Measurement ambiguity
Product quantification is nontrivial:
- Gas flow corrections required
- Carbonate formation affects Faradaic efficiency
- Membrane crossover distorts liquid product measurements
- Humidity and temperature errors can shift values by 10%
Without harmonized measurement protocols, lab-to-lab comparisons remain unreliable.
A Product-driven standardization framework
Instead of forcing a universal benchmark, the authors propose a product-specific standardization approach.
They focus on four promising products:
| Product | Tech Maturity | Market Relevance |
| CO | High | Industrial feedstock |
| Formic acid | High | Chemicals |
| Ethylene | Moderate | Massive petrochemical market |
| Ethanol | Moderate | Fuel + chemicals |
They define performance thresholds tied to market competitiveness, including:
- Partial current density > 200 mA/cm²
- Faradaic efficiency > 90%
- Energy efficiency > 60%
- Cell voltage < 3 V
- Multi-year durability
C1 products (CO, formic acid) are approaching these thresholds.
C2 products (ethylene, ethanol) still lag—due to selectivity challenges and voltage penalties.
A stepwise development protocol for CO₂E
To bridge lab discovery and industrial deployment, the paper proposes a structured pathway:
Phase 1: Materials screening
- Catalytic activity
- Scalability of synthesis
- Raw material cost
Phase 2: Electrode engineering
- Catalyst loading
- Gas diffusion electrode design
- Areal capacity
Phase 3: Standardized single-cell testing
- Active area > 1 cm²
- Defined CO₂ feedstock
- Short-term metrics (FE, overpotential, Tafel slope, ECSA)
Phase 4: Industrial-relevant evaluation
- Techno-economic analysis (TEA)
- Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
- Long-term stability
- Product purity
Phase 5: Stack-level demonstration
- Repeatability
- Pressure control
- Microenvironment engineering
- 10,000-hour durability targets
Phase 6: Third-party certification
This final step—largely missing in today’s CO₂E landscape—could be transformative.
The ecosystem gap
The paper compares PV and CO₂E value chains.
Photovoltaics:
- Mature global supply chains
- Gigawatt-scale manufacturing
- 25+ year module lifetimes
- Established financing models
CO₂ electrolysis:
- Custom-built pilot systems
- Limited durability data
- Fragmented supply chain
- Minimal third-party validation
- Weak policy demand signals
PV has full-stack industrial maturity.
CO₂E is still in the early development stage.
What must happen next
The authors identify three essential enablers:
- Transparent, harmonized testing protocols and third-party validation.
- Clear performance milestones tied to economic viability.
- Manufacturing scale-up, supply chain development, and policy support.
Without these, even breakthrough catalysts may remain academic achievements.
The bigger vision: carbon as feedstock
Long-term, CO₂ electrolysis could become a foundational element of the “refinery of the future”:
- Coupled with thermochemical upgrading (e.g., Fischer–Tropsch)
- Integrated with renewable electricity
- Linked to carbon capture infrastructure
In this vision, CO₂ becomes not waste—but feedstock.
But reaching that future requires moving from isolated lab optimization to coordinated industrialization.
The core insight
The central message of the Perspective is not that CO₂ electrolysis should copy photovoltaics.
It’s that technologies scale when ecosystems scale.
PV succeeded because:
- Performance was benchmarked.
- Claims were certified.
- Policy created demand.
- Manufacturing reduced cost.
CO₂E now needs the same systemic alignment.
The science is advancing.
The next frontier is coordination.