Carbon dioxide (CO₂) can be harmful to the environment in large amounts but can be used in the production of fuels and other useful chemicals. Doing so isn't easy, though. Now, Yale researchers have developed a new way to combine electrocatalysis and plasma to efficiently and practically generate a number of valuable products from the gas. The results are published in Nature Catalysis.
Hydrocarbons are one of the best energy stores available. We also have large networks already set up to distribute and use them. Being able to dump large amounts of excess energy into hydrocarbons as energy storage and feedstock would be a big gain for saving the planet.