Through protein engineering we have developed a customized enzyme that uses CO₂ derived from emissions to produce high value products. In this energetically favorable conversion technology called “carboligation”, CO₂ is incorporated into organic compounds through an enzymatic reaction. A primary challenge for biochemical approaches to date has been the complexity of reactions and the associated energy input requirements to modify carbons. Through enzyme engineering, our breakthrough carboligation technology addresses this key energy problem and delivers considerable commercial potential through CO₂ conversion with a simple low energy reaction.