Dimensional Energy is scaling a photocatalytic CO2 reactor technology platform that enables the utilization of concentrated sunlight to produce Syngas chemical feedstock for downstream conversion to liquid fuels. Their goal is to decarbonize the aviation industry with sustainable jetfuel.
The original intellectual property of Dimensional Energy was developed by professor David Erickson at Cornell University, with the company recently expanding their platform with new reactor designs, catalysts, and CO2 capture/conversion technologies. Dimensional Energy is partly funded by National Science Foundation and Department of Energy grants, and will demonstrate a CO2-to-jetfuel system at their field site in Arizona in 2021 during their post-XPRIZE scale-up.
Dimensional Energy’s HI-Light™ platform combines advanced optics, catalysts, software automation, and reactor design to produce an efficient solar-driven CO2 conversion system.
The HI-Light™ system demonstrated at the XPRIZE test site in Wyoming was Dimensional Energy’s first pilot. Powered by a modular parabolic reflector and reactor design, it produced Syngas using the Reverse Water-Gas Shift reaction with >99% catalyst chemical selectivity. It can be sized to any site depending on available space, desired output, or CO2 availability, and has been shown to work with CO2 output purities of common carbon capture equipment.
For Carbon XPRIZE, the platform was optimized to convert captured CO2 to Syngas as a precursor to liquid fuels. The system is now at Dimensional Energy’s new testbed in Arizona where they will continue scaling the technology and start producing liquid fuels. Strategic partners and aviation fuel customers can inquire for more information.
CEO Jason Salfi has founded two startups in manufacturing resulting in one license and one acquisition. He has worked for NYSERDA (NY State Energy Research and Development Authority) as an Innovation Advisor and Entrepreneur in Residence focusing on technology to market strategy, sustainability, supply chain, manufacturing, marketing, lean startup methodology, fundraising, team building, and company leadership.
Dr. Bradley Brennan, Director of R&D, has over 15 years of hands-on experience with numerous technologies involving solar energy, catalytic conversion of CO2 to high-value products, electrochemistry, nanotechnology, and chemical/materials/catalyst synthesis. He helped design and build the solar laboratories at Yale’s Energy Sciences Institute, has been a member of the NSF-funded Center for Innovation in Solar Fuels at Caltech, and the DOE-funded Bioinspired Solar Fuels – Energy Frontier Research Center at Arizona State University. Combining those experiences has allowed Dimensional Energy to quickly innovate, overcome challenges, and scale from lab prototype to XPRIZE demonstration and beyond.
Jason Salfi, Co-Founder and CEO
Bradley Brennan Director of R&D
Adrienne Lee, Engineer
Mihir Gada, Engineer
Marcelo Motto, Engineer
Brian Bowman, Engineer
Michael Newel, Optical Engineer
Ali Sangghaleh, NSF Post-doctoral Fellow
Dr. David Erickson, Co-Founder and Technical Advisor
Dr. Tobias Hanrath, Co-Founder and Technical Advisor