CO₂-Reduction Primary Cell for Use on Venus

A document proposes a CO2-reduction primary electrochemical cell as a building block of batteries to supply electric power on the surface of Venus. The basic principle of the proposed cell is similar to that of terrestrial Zn-air batteries, the major differences being that (1) the anode metal would not be Zn and (2) CO2, which is about 96.5 mole percent of the Venusian atmosphere, would be used, instead of O2, as the source of oxygen. The cell would include a solid electrolyte that could withstand operation at a temperatures as high as 1,000 °C and, hence, could withstand operation at the Venusian surface temperature of ≈460 °C.