Converting CO₂ into fuel using battery waste
Converting battery and aluminum waste into nanocatalysts for methane (fuel) production, with recycling of used nanocatalysts into new catalysts.
(Illustration: TU Wien)
March 4, 2025 – Researchers at TU Wien have developed a method to convert CO₂ into methane using a nanocatalyst made from discarded batteries. The process extracts nickel from used nickel-metal hydride batteries and aluminium from the same batteries to create a nanocatalyst that transforms CO₂ into usable methane.
According to TU Wien, this innovation offers two major benefits: it helps address the growing issue of battery waste while simultaneously producing a climate-neutral fuel in the form of methane.
Their study was published in Green Chemistry in February under the title ‘Upcycling Hazardous Waste into High-Performance Ni/η-Al₂O₃ Catalysts for CO₂ Methanation.’
