What to do with the greenhouse gases that we manage to capture has been a question that has various answers, none that are really perfect. New research has a possible solution. Why not just turn it back to a solid before we store it away? In a new process, scientist turn CO2 from gas back into coal.

It’s a sort of full circle situation, isn’t it? From coal it came and from coal it will return! All jokes aside, being in coal form makes the substance much easier to remove and store safely. The process is efficient and can also be scaled up, one of the chief struggles for many innovative technologies.

This process uses liquid metals to transfer the gas into the solid, coal form. This would be much safer to transport and store than alternatives which have come under fire for being potentially harmful to the environment in the case of spills and expensive. If this research proves successful, it could help carbon capture programs make even greater strides.