NEWARK, DE. — October 1, 2026 — Versogen, a global leader in anion exchange membrane (AEM) technologies, shares that its PiperION® membranes and ionomers were used to build an electrochemical direct air capture (eDAC) device that removes carbon dioxide from ambient air at an energy cost as low as 0.46 MWh per tonne of CO₂ — a fraction of the 1.8 to 3.1 MWh per tonne consumed by the temperature-swing sorption systems that dominate DAC at scale today.
The state-of-the-art eDAC with PiperION® membrane.
The results appear in Nature Energy, published by researchers at the Center for Clean Hydrogen at the University of Delaware and RepAir DAC Ltd. in Israel. The paper, “A Ni(OH)2 symmetric battery cell for hydroxide exchange membrane-based direct air capture of CO2,” acknowledges the contribution of Versogen’s PiperION® membranes and ionomer in the research.
The hydroxide exchange membrane carbon capture (HEMCC) cell is developed from nickel hydroxide chemistry already proven in rechargeable batteries. In the cell, a piece of 80-micron PiperION® A80 membrane is sandwiched by two identical Ni(OH) ₂ electrodes. As the cell discharges, the cathode generates hydroxide while the anode consumes it, building a pH gradient across the membrane that captures CO₂ on one side and releases a purified CO₂ stream on the other. No heat, solvents or liquids is used at any stage, so the process runs entirely on renewable electricity. Because both electrodes are made of the same material, the cell’s thermodynamic equilibrium voltage is by definition zero. The dominant voltage requirement is simply maintaining the pH gradient: 0.17 volts for a 2.8 pH difference.The paper reports consistent performance from laboratory cell to pilot stack. A 25 cm² laboratory cell achieved an average energy cost of 1.15 MWh per tonne of CO₂ with a flux of 78 kgCO₂ per square meter per year. An improved, manufacturable 25 cm² cell reached 0.46 MWh per tonne of CO₂ and 62 kgCO2 per square meter per year at the end of a 5,000-hour durability test on ambient air. A pilot stack of nine 300 cm² cells, totaling 2,700 cm² of active area, held 0.83 MWh per tonne of CO₂ with a flux of 75 kgCO₂ per square meter per year.
Notably, energy cost fell over the course of the long-duration test, from 0.67 to 0.53 to 0.46 MWh per tonne of CO₂, while flux and electron efficiency both improved. The authors attribute the gains to a self-limiting corrosion process in which exposed metallic nickel in the foam scaffold gradually converts into electrochemically active Ni(OH)₂. Scale-up also reduced the pressure drop from 2,800 Pa in the laboratory cell to less than 300 Pa, the threshold the paper identifies for economical blower operation in DAC.
The paper projects a levelized cost of capture falling from USD 566 per tonne of CO₂ at the Gen-0 pilot scale to USD 92 per tonne at Gen-3 volume, below the USD 100 target set by the U.S. Department of Energy.
PiperION® across the Power-to-X Value Chain.
It is worth noticing that the PiperION® is deployed across the Power-to-X value chain. Rather than functioning solely within AEM water electrolysis, where Versogen is well known by the general public, the same robust anion exchange membrane serves as the foundational material bridging renewable electrons to liquid fuels and high-value chemicals.
By enabling the use of abundant, low-cost transition metals (nickel, iron, and cobalt) and economical stack components, AEM electrolysis pairs directly with fluctuating electricity from wind and solar to substantially lower the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). The recent success of licensing Versogen stack technology to InSolare, an Indian leading solar power company, demonstrates the rapid growth of AEM water electrolysis technology globally.
In carbon capture, AEM provides a completely electrified, chemical-free architecture for extracting atmospheric CO₂. As highlighted in the Nature Energy publication, the PiperION-based hydroxide exchange membrane carbon capture (HEMCC) cell uses green power to establish an electrochemical pH differential, capturing and liberating high-purity CO₂ at energy expenditures as low as 0.46 MWh per tonne without the heat swings, chemical solvents, or liquid consumables required by conventional direct air capture facilities.
Beyond gas-phase separation, AEM technology directly drives the electrochemical conversion of captured carbon. Leveraging PiperION’s superior carbonate ion transport and alkaline durability, low-temperature CO₂ electrolyzers—exemplified by eChemicles’ industrial prototype producing 100 tonnes of carbon monoxide per year—can electrochemically reduce CO₂ into carbon monoxide or synthesis gas using renewable electricity, bypassing thermal intermediaries.
When scaled together, atmospheric CO₂ captured via AEM-based DAC and green hydrogen produced via AEM water electrolysis can be directly combined into e-methanol, e-methane, and sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF). This establishes an end-to-end, fully electrified closed loop:
- Renewable Electricity → AEM Water Electrolysis → Green Hydrogen
- Ambient Air + Renewable Electricity → AEM-based eDAC → High-Purity CO₂
- Green Hydrogen + Captured CO₂ (or CO via AEM CO₂ reduction) → e-Methanol / e-SAF / Clean Synthetic Fuels
Through this integrated architecture, PiperION® AEM transcends the role of simple membrane component to become the central hub uniting hydrogen production, carbon capture, and carbon conversion. Versogen supplies more than 100 industrial customers and distributors worldwide, and was selected by the International Energy Agency in 2025 as the global benchmark AEM for international round-robin evaluations—solidifying anion exchange membrane technology as an indispensable material foundation for the global clean energy transition.
PiperION® is a registered trademark of Versogen, Inc.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02129-z