The conversion of CO2 into energy-dense carbon-based products, and hence the closure of the carbon cycle in a circular approach, is a very attractive solution for the reduction of the atmospheric CO2 content and for the storage of fluctuating renewable energy into chemical energy. Various technologies to reduce CO2, such as thermochemical, electrochemical, photochemical and biochemical processes have been explored in recent years. The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is particularly attractive due to: i) its efficiency, ii) the possibility of using renewable electricity, iii) its controllable selectivity by adjusting the electrode potential, and iv) the use of compact, highly efficient, modular and scalable reaction systems for the synthesis of a variety of products. Among the various CO2RR products, CO has been considered one of the most commercially viable because of its kinetically accessible process (two-protons and two-electrons reaction) and high efficiency. CO is a very versatile raw material in the industry: it is the main component of synthesis gas (a mixture of CO and H2) and utilized to produce a series of essential organic chemical products and intermediates including alcohols, acids, anhydrides, esters, aldehydes, ethers, amines, alkanes, and alkenes. For example, it can be used as an intermediate product for the further reduction to ethylene However, due to the high stability of CO2 and the requirement of electron-and protontransfers for its transformation, catalysts need to overcome the slow kinetics, yielding low overpotential and high product selectivity. Silver (Ag) has been the metal of choice as catalyst for the CO2RR to CO due to its high activity, selectivity, 5 and drastically lower cost compared to gold (Au). Having the second optimal binding energy for the key intermediate of COOH, which is essential in the CO2RR process to CO, Ag is slightly less efficient than Au for CO2RR to CO. Even though Ag is not a CRM (critical raw material), its considerable cost is a burden for up-scaling. To facilitate the industrial application of the electrochemical CO2RR over Ag-based catalysts, research efforts need to be directed towards the minimization of the amount of Ag in the catalytic system, while maintaining the overall activity and selectivity (i.e., increasing the mass activity), while ensuring industry-relevant manufacturing routes.