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27 billion metric tones of carbon dioxide are being emitted each year and carbon credits currently trade at values of up to $40 USD per tonne.
In using renewable energy, Mantra's Electroreduction of Carbon Dioxide (ERC) technology combines captured CO2 with water to produce high value materials, including: formic acid, formate salts, oxalic acid, and methanol.
In addition, companies adopting ERC stand to make significant profit from its by-products. Formic acid, for example, currently sells for approx. $1,450/ton.
Mantra successfully completed a prototype capable of processing 1 kg of CO2 per day in Oct. 2008, and its first commercial scale reactor is schedule for completion by Q2 2010.
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MRFC stands for mixed reactant fuel cell: it is a simpler design than the standard fuel cell and is therefore less expensive to manufacture. This gives it a competitive advantage over the standard fuel cell and puts it on a more even competitive level with batteries. It is also expected to be rugged and flexible.
In two years, when MRFC is a commercial product, it is likely to be applied to powering light commuter vehicles, the next wave of transportation technology. In this it will have a big advantage over the standard fuel cell, and is more likely to compete with the upgraded battery systems now being developed.
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