THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEMONSTRATE A GROUNDBREAKING CAUSTIC AQUEOUS PHASE REFORMING (C-APR) TECHNOLOGY TO PRODUCE CARBON-NEGATIVE, CLEAN HYDROGEN (H2) FROM RAW BIOETHANOL. BIOETHANOL, A WIDELY DISTRIBUTED FEEDSTOCK IN THE U.S., IS A KEY COMPONENT DUE TO ITS BROAD AVAILABILITY AND THE U.S.'S STATUS AS A LEADING PRODUCER. THE C-APR TECHNOLOGY ENABLES CLEAN H2 PRODUCTION AT OR BELOW $3/KG, WHICH WILL POWER HIGH-TEMPERATURE FUEL CELLS FOR GRID-FREE ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) CHARGING STATIONS. THESE STATIONS OFFER A SUSTAINABLE, VERSATILE SOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE U.S.'S GROWING EV FLEET WHILE MINIMIZING IMPACT ON AN ALREADY STRAINED ELECTRIC GRID. THE C-APR SYSTEM GENERATES HIGHLY PURE H2 (= 99%) AT TEMPERATURES BELOW 250°C AND PRESSURES UNDER 40 BAR, WITHOUT THE NEED FOR MEMBRANES OR OTHER CO2 SEPARATION TECHNOLOGIES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE ITS OPERATIONAL COST. FOR OUR C-APR TECHNOLOGY, CO2 FROM BIOETHANOL IS CONVERTED IN SITU INTO LIQUID BICARBONATE USING CAUSTIC CHEMISTRY, ALLOWING FURTHER TRANSFORMATION INTO VALUE-ADDED CARBON PRODUCTS, THUS ACHIEVING CARBON-NEGATIVE H2 PRODUCTION. BY UTILIZING WASTE HEAT TO SUSTAIN THE C-APR PROCESS, THE SYSTEM EFFICIENTLY SUPPORTS ITS OWN STEADY-STATE OPERATION. ALIGNED WITH ARPA-E’S MISSION, THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY PROMISES ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND ENERGY SECURITY BENEFITS BY REDUCING DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN ENERGY AND LOWERING NET GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.