Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered a process to convert CO2 into ethanol using spiky nanoparticles. This finding is still to be tested for its viability.

Scientists at the federally-funded Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a relatively efficient way to turn carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) into ethanol (fuel) using carbon, copper, electricity, and nanoscale engineering.

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Last month, the researchers published a paper in ChemistrySelect explaining the novel way to convert CO2 into ethanol. That process, which was discovered in 2014, has been replicated several time in the nanotechnology laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The discovery made news started after Oak Ridge released a press release last week revealing their latest find.

"In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol," the statement said.

The finding was serendipitous, lead research writer Adam Rondinone told CBS News. His crew was reportedly examining different chemical reaction, using nanotechnology and electricity, when they found this process.

The experts discovered a way to convert atmospheric CO2 into ethanol through a process that does not require fancy or expensive elements and can be done under circumstances that do not require a lot of power.

The team revealed that a catalyst composed of carbon, copper, and nitrogen was used with voltage to trigger a complex chemical reaction that reverses the oxidization process.