A Bangalore based startup has received the National Award 2021 from Technology Development Board (TDB) for developing a commercial solution for conversion of CO₂ to chemicals and fuels.

Breathe Applied Sciences, a startup incubated at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) developed efficient catalysts and methodologies for the conversion of CO₂ to methanol and other chemicals.

It has led to improvisation of process engineering to enhance the production of chemicals and fuels from anthropogenic CO₂ generated from various sources including coal and natural gas power generation sectors, steel industry, cement industry, and chemical industries and integrating multiple components involved in the CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) to develop a complete solution for the environmental issues due to global warming.

The research was carried out by Prof. Sebastian C Peter and his group from the New Chemistry Unit at JNCASR. He is also a co-founder and director of Breathe Applied Sciences which was started from the generous funding from DST Nano Mission.

The startup signed an agreement with JNCASR, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology for transfer of technology based on lab-scale research on reducing CO₂ to methanol and other useful chemicals and fuels. 

The MOU helped in smooth translation of the research in the area of CO₂ reduction to useful chemicals and fuels from the laboratory scale to pilot scale economically.

“In the pilot mode, the current capacity of CO₂ conversion is 300 kg per day, which can be scaled up to several 100 tons in an industrial scale. It will take some time to reach the level of industrial production. A few industry sectors are in discussion with Breathe for potential use of our developed technology soon" said Prof. Sebastian C Peter.

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SS/RP/ (DST Media Cell)