Decarbonising Silicon Production
Our Mission
GREEN14 is reinventing the extraction process of silicon from quartz. We use green hydrogen to separate silicon and oxygen from quartz - instead of using coal. Avoiding coal results in replacing carbon dioxide with water as a byproduct. Our commitment to change the world in combination with disruptive technology will have a long-lasting impact.
What is silicon used for?
Silicon, with atomic number 14, is the second most common element in the world’s crust. Most of it is tied up in quartz or other silicon-based minerals, making it hard to find as a pure element in nature. Silicon is the most used semiconductor in computer chips and is used as a semi-metal in aluminum alloys.
Sustainable silicon production
Silicon production emits 105 million tonnes CO₂ per year, almost a third of the UK’s emissions. We want to change that. More than 90% of the world’s silicon supply comes from China, extracted using an outdated method, involving enormous amounts of coal. With our technology, green hydrogen is used to replace coal as a necessary additive for the extraction process, drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions.