Feng Li

Dr Feng Li’s research aims to accelerate the transition toward a low-carbon chemical industry by developing technologies that convert captured CO₂ into valuable fuels and chemicals using renewable electricity.

A major focus of his work is overcoming the efficiency, durability and product-separation challenges that currently limit large-scale CO₂ electrolysis. By combining catalyst design, advanced membranes and electrolyser engineering, his research has demonstrated high-rate CO₂ conversion to products such as ethylene and ethanol under conditions relevant to practical electrochemical systems.

Key outcomes of his research include:

• developing CO₂ electrolysers capable of maintaining high selectivity toward multi-carbon products at industrially relevant current densities;

• improving single-pass carbon utilisation through better control of reaction and transport processes;

• developing membrane and reactor designs that reduce product crossover and improve operational stability;

• demonstrating strategies to retain and concentrate liquid products such as ethanol, reducing the downstream separation burden; and

• integrating carbon capture and electrochemical conversion to create more energy-efficient pathways from CO₂ emissions to useful chemicals.

Through collaborations spanning materials science, chemical engineering and industry, his research is helping establish design principles for scalable electrochemical manufacturing. Ultimately, this work seeks to reduce dependence on fossil-derived chemical feedstocks while enabling more efficient utilisation of captured carbon and renewable electricity.