In a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, the scientists said they had established more clearly than before how the electrochemical reduction of CO2 is made possible.

Researchers from China and Denmark have worked out an important step in how to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into a raw material using electricity, a process that could dramatically boost efforts to reduce emissions, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Sunday.

A technician checks the power supply lines at a heating station with clean energy to reduce emission of carbon dioxide in the heating season in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

In a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, the scientists said they had established more clearly than before how the electrochemical reduction of CO2 is made possible.

Deng Wanyu, the lead author of the study and a Ph.D. student at Tianjin University, said the results provide new insights into the reaction mechanism, according to the SCMP article.

Carbon dioxide can be converted into liquid fuels or chemicals. Compared with traditional CO2 conversion, which requires high temperature and pressure, the electrochemical reduction process can be performed at room temperature and powered by electricity.

The electrochemical reduction process had great potential as an emerging approach to using CO2 as a resource, the study said.

The ability to capture, store and use carbon dioxide -- the key greenhouse gas that drives global climate change -- could help countries to reach net-zero emissions targets. But only a few companies have so far developed the technology to turn greenhouse gas into raw material.