Electrochemical CO₂ reduction is a promising technology for utilizing carbon dioxide as a raw material for chemical syntheses while simultaneously reducing CO₂ emissions. Depending on the catalyst material used, a wide range of products is possible. The focus of this project is on the production of syngas (CO & H₂), which is needed for various chemical processes, such as the production of synthetic fuels using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, using silver gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs). These GDEs are already used on an industrial scale as oxygen-depolarized cathodes in chlor-alkali electrolysis.

To further increase the energy efficiency of the process, the GDEs can be directly connected to the required membrane. By eliminating the electrolyte gap resistance, the cell voltages can be significantly reduced. In this project, the known silver GDEs will be further developed and characterized as so-called membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In addition to electrochemical measurements with the resulting MEAs in a laboratory setup, a GDE model from a previous project will be adapted to the MEA concept to gain further insights into the system.