Santa Barbara, California—C-Zero announced that it has won a competitive $1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office. C-Zero will use this funding to further study novel methane pyrolysis systems as well as methods of carbon removal.
C-Zero's technology is a type of methane pyrolysis, or direct conversion of methane, the primary component of natural gas, into hydrogen and solid carbon. Methane pyrolysis, also known as methane splitting, allows hydrogen to be extracted from natural gas without any direct CO2 emissions. At a thermodynamic level, seven times as much hydrogen can be produced by splitting methane than by splitting water via electrolysis
Commenting on the award, C-Zero CEO Zach Jones said “The support from the Department of Energy will allow us to expand our efforts in de-risking critical aspects of our technology. We look forward to their feedback and recommendations."
C-Zero is a hard-tech startup located in Santa Barbara, CA, that is developing a technology for decarbonizing natural gas. The company’s technology uses high temperatures to break down methane, (the primary molecule in natural gas) into hydrogen and solid carbon. C-Zero’s hydrogen can be used to decarbonize a wide range of industries including ammonia production, gasoline and diesel fuel, electric generation, process heat, and fuel cell vehicles, and has the potential to address 75% of global CO2 emissions.