"The 21st century will be the age of gases ... a 'separation civilization' that extracts resources from the air is coming"

[Financial News] "If the 19th century was the age of solids and the 20th the age of liquids, the 21st will be the age of gases. Faced with resource depletion and environmental pollution, humanity will have to switch within the next 20 to 50 years from a 'mining civilization' that digs into the ground to a 'separation civilization' that selects and uses gaseous molecules from the air."
At a special lecture at the 12th Next Intelligence Forum (NIF), held at Korea University's main auditorium on the 6th, Professor Susumu Kitagawa, the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, made this prediction about a major transformation in future industries.
Professor Kitagawa called air “invisible gold” and predicted that a 'molecular refinery' that precisely captures carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements from the atmosphere and converts them into energy would become key infrastructure for future industries. He explained that new materials with microscopic pores invisible to the eye can create a surface area of at least one soccer field with just 1 g, making it possible to effectively capture even trace amounts of gases in the air.
While warning of the risks of an era of a 'dilute-molecule economy,' in which carbon and useful gases make up only a tiny proportion of the atmosphere, he also emphasized that new materials technology could offer practical solutions to the climate crisis and energy challenges. In fact, Professor Kitagawa's research team was the first in the world to successfully separate water from heavy water using nanopores, solving a problem that had remained unresolved for 100 years.
The event was organized to mark Korea University's 120th anniversary by inviting a world-renowned scholar to its academic forum, and also to celebrate the appointment of Professor Kitagawa as an endowed chair professor at Korea University's KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology. Korea University President Kim Dong-won welcomed him, saying, "Professor Kitagawa's gas capture and storage technologies offer a clear answer to the energy challenges facing humanity."
At the end of his lecture, Professor Kitagawa stressed perseverance and steadfastness to young researchers. He urged them: "The practice of thinking things through for yourself, rather than understanding new theories faster than others, creates a 'prepared mind.'"

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter