NREL offers insight into the economic feasibility and key cost drivers of producing chemical intermediates from carbon dioxide (CO2) and electricity across five different conversion pathways.

These data visualizations are a companion to The Economic Outlook for Converting CO2 and Electrons to Molecules, Energy & Environmental Science (2021).

3D illustration showing CO₂ and electricity converting to fuels, chemicals, and plastic precursors via microbial electrosynthesis, high- and low-temp electrolysis, and indirectly via thermochemical and biological conversion pathways.

Developed with funding from the Bioenergy Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

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Last Updated April 21, 2025