By Abbas Nazil
Dioxycle, a clean-chemistry startup, is advancing efforts to produce ethylene using electrolysis from carbon, offering a lower-carbon alternative to traditional fossil fuel pathways.
Ethylene, a key industrial molecule, is conventionally derived from steam cracking of ethane found in natural gas streams.
While this process produces ethylene in high volume, it is energy-intensive, complex, and contributes significantly to carbon emissions, making each tonne costly both financially and environmentally.
Sarah Lamaison, CEO and co-founder of Dioxycle, highlighted that innovation in the production of industrial molecules is critical to reducing carbon footprints while meeting market demand.
The company is exploring opportunities to transform how ethylene is manufactured, focusing on electrolysis processes that utilize carbon-based feedstocks rather than fossil fuels.
Low-carbon and specialty industrial molecules have traditionally been expensive due to limited production scale, high energy requirements, and complex manufacturing processes.
Dioxycle’s approach aims to address these challenges by leveraging electrochemical techniques to produce ethylene more sustainably while potentially reducing production costs in the long term.
The company sees this as part of a broader trend in science and industry to repurpose carbon dioxide and replace conventional fossil fuel methods, aligning with global efforts to decarbonize industrial sectors.
Lamaison explained that even though large-scale production infrastructure exists for conventional ethylene, there is a pressing need for innovation to meet climate and sustainability goals while maintaining economic viability.
By developing greener production methods, Dioxycle hopes to reduce the environmental impact of industrial chemical manufacturing while creating scalable and commercially competitive alternatives to traditional ethylene.
The company’s work reflects a growing industry focus on low-carbon industrial processes, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities in transforming chemical supply chains to address climate concerns.
As industries worldwide face pressure to reduce emissions, Dioxycle’s electrolysis-based ethylene production may represent a critical step in achieving more sustainable chemical manufacturing.
