COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers have developed a process for converting carbon dioxide and industrial waste into green hydrogen, reporting in a new study that turning trash into valuable mineral products could usher in a more efficient way to produce clean fuel.
Green hydrogen , produced when water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using a process called electrolysis, is a promising tool for decarbonizing the planet: Unlike power created by burning fossil fuels, when run on renewable electricity, it has no negative impact on the environment.
Accordingly, as reliable energy sources become increasingly vital for ensuring a consistent and enduring global energy supply, many industries are pivoting to embrace next-generation zero-emission technologies, said Tomaz Neves-Garcia , lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in chemistry and biochemistry at The Ohio State University.
“Carbon dioxide is an abundant resource that we need to make an effort to capture and utilize,” he said. “When paired with industrial waste, it can be transformed into valuable products, so we came up with a process where instead of releasing its energy, we actually harvest it from the capturing process to produce green hydrogen and valuable calcite.”
In the first demonstration of their technology, the team successfully captured carbon dioxide (CO2) using industrial by-products such as steel slag and coal ash . The gas reacted with those materials to permanently form high-purity calcite, a widely used industrial mineral with applications ranging from construction materials to pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
The team’s results showed that the chemical reactions their process created reduced the energy required for water electrolysis and green hydrogen production. This also meant the team was able to produce hydrogen with negative emissions by employing widely available grid electricity, paving the way for hydrogen to be produced in a much more effective and cheaper way than traditional methods of generation, which require significant amounts of electricity.
“Our technology does not treat CO₂ as a burden that must be managed,” said Neves-Garcia. “Instead of wasting energy, we are actually creating value and creating energy. This is what makes the potential of this process really impactful.”
The study was published July 8 in the journal ACS Energy Letters.
While utilizing green hydrogen offers many environmental benefits, researchers have also noted that widespread adoption would greatly benefit the global economy.
For instance, because the team’s new chemical process doesn’t rely on specialized materials to capture carbon dioxide, their findings introduce a sustainable way for steel and coal industries to transform unwanted waste into valuable calcite products, said Robert Baker, senior author of the study and a professor in chemistry and biochemistry at Ohio State.
“This technology is exciting because it takes two abundant waste streams and converts them to valuable products, which are in high demand for fuels and manufacturing,” said Baker. “It also has the potential to make a significant economic impact without relying on carbon credits, government subsidies or environmental mandates.”
According to the study, when combined with the value of the calcite co-product, the projected cost of production is less than $1 per kilogram, making their green hydrogen scalable and readily competitive with the cost of producing conventional fossil-fuel-derived hydrogen.
While both methods have limitations and advantages, if this team’s process is widely implemented across interconnected sectors, researchers estimate the study’s technology could prevent about 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution annually. Beyond helping to protect the environment, their solution to mitigate these greenhouse gases represents an abundant and inexpensive carbon source that could be utilized for sustainable manufacturing of many other much-needed complex materials and chemicals.
As investment in green technologies grows worldwide, researchers say, this work emphasizes the importance of major chemical leaps in expanding energy systems and reducing our carbon footprint.
“Climate solutions do not only not have to be more expensive, they can also be simpler, scalable and economically attractive,” said Neves-Garcia. “We have the ability now to implement them.”
Corrado Masciocchi, an undergraduate research fellow at Ohio State, was also a co-author. This work was supported by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation.
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Contact: Tomaz Neves-Garcia, Nevesgarcia.1@osu.edu
Written by: Tatyana Woodall, Woodall.52@osu.edu
ACS Energy Letters
Electrochemical CO2 Mineralization and H2 Generation from Steel and Coal Waste
8-Jul-2026