Researchers in Eindhoven are using electrocatalysis on a copper and zinc oxide catalyst to produce the fertiliser urea from two waste products.

Urea is a widely used fertiliser, usually produced from ammonia and CO₂ using thermal catalysis. However, due to the high temperatures required, this process also has high CO₂ emissions. An alternative process is electrocatalysis. A team of researchers from TU Eindhoven is now using electrocatalysis to combine the waste products nitrate and CO₂ to produce urea, a complex molecule that is more valuable to industry than ammonia. They have published their findings in Communications Chemistry.