On the 29th of April, 230 participants from all over the world participated in the innovation award ceremony, joined by our Secretary General Anastasios Perimenis, at the CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2025 in Cologne (DE).
We warmly congratulate our member UP Catalyst on winning the first “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2025” Innovation Award in recognition of their development of battery‐grade graphite derived from CO₂ emissions.
Our member has pioneered a process that utilises Molten Salt CO₂ Capture and Electrochemical Conversion (MSCC‐EC) technology to convert CO₂ emissions into durable carbon materials, including graphite and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Their approach boasts the lowest energy consumption per tonne of graphite produced. This advanced method enables the continuous production of carbon materials at temperatures between 500 and 750 °C—markedly lower than the 2,800 °C typically required for conventional graphite synthesis. As a result, the technology consumes about half the energy needed for traditional synthetic graphite production and up to 20 times less energy for CNT production.
Far Eastern New Century 遠東新世紀 and Oxylus Energy won the second and third prizes for their CO₂‐based NIPU technology and the direct electrochemical method for producing green methanol.
Now in its 13th edition, the CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference is a leading platform for Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) and Power-to-X innovation. Six nominees showcased their groundbreaking CCU technologies, with the audience voting live to select the three winners of the Award. The winning solutions represent major progress in the shift away from fossil resources.
The Innovation Award “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2025” was sponsored by YNCORIS, a service partner for the future-proof chemical industry, and it is co-organised by nova-Institut and CO₂ Value Europe.
Find the full press release here.
