Can We Decarbonise Methanol Production by Direct Electrochemical CO₂ Reduction?

Methanol is one of the most important chemical feedstocks, with an increase in global demand more than 20 million tonnes since 2017. The current production methanol primarily from fossil fuel derived synthetic gas (syngas), producing up to 2.97 CO2 per tonne methanol. direct electrochemical reduction reaction (eCO2RR), i. e. systems which reduced at cathode coupled oxygen evolution anode, attractive approaches for decarbonising production, using renewable energy sources as power source. In this review, we critically discuss progress and challenges associated eCO2RR methanol, aim addressing question whether approach can provide a feasible route decarbonisation key commodity.