A UCLA team in the finals of a multi-million dollar, international prize for turning carbon emissions into commercial products, is preparing for a major showcase of its advance.

Using a first-of-its-kind system, the team aims to decrease the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from a coal-burning power plant by turning the waste gas into concrete-based building products.

Carbon Upcycling UCLA is one of ten teams in the final round of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE. The competition is scheduled to conclude in 2020, when two prizes of $7.5 million each will be awarded to a team in each of two energy tracks, coal and natural gas, that demonstrates the most viable technology for turning carbon dioxide emissions into valued products. The UCLA team is one of five in the competition’s coal track.

In February 2020, Carbon Upcycling UCLA will move into the Wyoming Integrated Test Center to demonstrate its system at an industrial scale. The test center is part of Dry Fork Station, a coal-based power plant outside the town of Gillette, Wyo.

The demonstration of UCLA’s technologies is supported by a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The team is working with Susteon, a sustainable technologies development company in North Carolina, to help transition their system up to an industrial level.