BOSTON, January 20, 2006 — The NASA-Ames Research Center awarded a research and development contract to Skyhaven Systems, LLC (RIL), formerly MicroCell Technologies, of Littleton, MA to develop an electrochemical reactor to electrochemically reduce carbon dioxide to oxygen. In support of NASA’s advanced life support processes and human exploration missions, recovering oxygen from carbon dioxide is important since oxygen resupply is not a viable option. RIL’s process is based on using a low temperature molten salt to selectively adsorb carbon dioxide from the ambient and reducing it to an oxide ion and carbon monoxide. The oxide ion is subsequently oxidized to oxygen. This carbon dioxide removal and oxygen generator may be used by NASA to provide oxygen for cabin crew life support or for propellant generation on Mars as a part of the In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) process.

Commercial applications of RIL’s innovative CO2 reactor design may be found in processing or sequestering carbon dioxide from the ambient environment. Additional commercial applications may be found in sensors for detecting and quantifying carbon dioxide in air.