Hailiang Wang, professor of chemistry, received a Yale Ventures Faculty Innovation Award for helping to launch a spinout company from his lab called Oxylus Energy, which uses technology for carbon dioxide conversion based on discoveries in his research group.
The company aims to build a circular economy for carbon dioxide. This would address two problems associated with climate change: 1) the need for an alternative to fossil fuels, which are nonrenewable, limited, and prominent producers of CO2, and 2) how to utilize CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, to make valuable chemicals.
Oxylus Energy is developing a scalable electrolyzer technology that converts CO2 to create green chemicals and fuels. This could provide a method for recirculating carbon, resulting in zero net emissions. A major focus is the conversion of CO2 into methanol, which can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels. This technology could transform traditionally carbon-burdened industries – such as shipping, aviation, and plastics – and offer a sustainable solution for a decarbonized future.
Visit Oxylus Energy’s website to learn how they are creating a circular carbon economy.
The Wang Lab develops catalyst materials and catalytic processes for energy and environmental applications. These applications can help with large-scale challenges, such as transitioning to clean energy, mitigating carbon emissions, and protecting clean air and water resources.
Among the Oxylus Energy team are past members of the Department of Chemistry: Conor Rooney ‘24 Ph.D., alumnus from the Wang Lab, co-founder, and chief technical officer, and Jose Alvarez Hernandez, Ph.D., postdoc alumnus from the Hazari Lab and senior electrochemist. Professor Wang serves as a scientific advisor to the team.