Permanently Removing CO2 from Our Emissions and Atmosphere

April 3 - 8, 2022

Chair Roger D. Aines

Vice Chairs Andre Bardow

Contact Chairs

Four Points Sheraton / Holiday Inn Express

1050 Schooner Drive

Ventura, CA, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The role of carbon capture, utilization, and storage continues to grow as we recognize that our climate targets will be harder and harder to reach. Recent IPCC studies have demonstrated the critical importance of carbon capture for decarbonizing our economy rapidly. This is especially important today for industrial emissions, which have not received the attention that the electric sector has, and for which fewer decarbonization options are available. And the recent report on reaching 1.5ºC has highlighted that permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will perhaps play an even bigger role – potentially creating a new industry twice as large as today's oil industry. Thus, carbon capture and storage are needed for the immediate transition to a zero carbon economy, and then will be needed to remediate the atmosphere at massive scales.

In this fourth installation of the CCUS Gordon Research Conference series, we will examine the new science needed to achieve these massive goals. Can we decarbonize safely, and with a variety of approaches appropriate for the variety of power and industrial challenges? Can we develop methods to clean up the atmosphere – so called negative emissions – in time to keep within reasonable temperature limits? We will discuss these questions and many more in an interdisciplinary framework at the 2021 Gordon Research Conference on CCUS, where participants junior and senior will be stimulated by the highly interactive atmosphere typical of the GRCs and inspired by the natural landscape surrounding the conference venue.

We are working diligently on our program for this fall 2021 Carbon, Capture, Utilization and Storage GRC and GRS. We have been able to raise funding to support both young scientists and others who may require financial assistance. If you are interested in receiving funding, please contact the GRC chairs and/or the GRS chairs at the links provided if you do not already have their contact information. We are looking forward to being together again in person and hope all who are interested can join us!

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
2:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Keynote Session: The Evolving Role of CCUS from a Solution to Fossil Fuels, to a Solution to Atmospheric CO₂ Where are we, and where are we going? The critical needs for CCUS science and technology will be examined through the lenses of experiment and modeling. Discussion Leader: Andre Bardow (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
7:40 pm - 7:50 pm	Opening Remarks
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
8:00 pm - 8:30 pm	Niall Mac Dowell (Imperial College London, United Kingdom) "Greenhouse Gas Removal: Permanence and Efficiency"
8:30 pm - 8:45 pm	Discussion
8:45 pm - 9:15 pm	Sabine Fuss (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) gGmbH, Germany) "Opening Up the Scenario Space: How Much Do We Depend on Greenhouse Gas Removal and What are the Most Important Questions to Solve?"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	CO₂ Recycling A critical technology need is to find replacements for the fossil-carbon products we use today. Recycled CO₂ is a leading candidate, but there are massive challenges to be overcome. In this session we will focus on the science and technology of electrical methods for making carbon-based products. Discussion Leader: William Tumas (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:40 am	Edward Sargent (University of Toronto, Canada) "Advances in Electrochemistry and Catalysts for CO₂ Recycling"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:25 am	Coffee Break
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Sarah Baker (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA) "What Can We Discover at the Intersection of Advanced Manufacturing and Modeling in Carbon Capture and Utilization?"
10:55 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:40 am	Volker Sick (University of Michigan, USA) "Steps Towards a Trillion Dollar CO₂-Products Market"
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm	The GRC Power Hour™ The GRC Power Hour™ is designed to address challenges women face in science and issues of diversity and inclusion. The program supports the professional growth of all members of our communities by providing an open forum for discussion and mentoring. Organizer: Laura Nereng (3M, USA)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	The Role of Soils and Trees in Removing CO₂ Removing CO₂ from the air by taking advantage of natural processes can be highly efficient and have multiple benefits, but is just beginning to be examined from a fully scientific perspective. What progress is being made in using nature to help solve the climate crisis? What limits these approaches today, and how can those limits be overcome? Discussion Leader: Jennifer Pett-Ridge (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:10 pm	Asmeret Asefaw Berhe (University of California, Merced, USA) "What's Soil Got to do With Climate Change?"
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm	Peter Lawrence (NCAR, USA) "Assessing Carbon Dioxide Removal through Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Enhancement, in the context of Climate Change, Agricultural Expansion, and Biodiversity"
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Carbon Mineralization The current atmosphere's CO₂ content is controlled by interaction with geologic systems. What progress is being made in using those systems and reactions in ways that speed them up so that they can have an impact on our current climate? Discussion Leader: Greeshma Gadikota (Cornell University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:40 am	Benjamin Houlton (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, USA) "Soil, Agriculture and Minerals for Climate Mitigation"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:25 am	Coffee Break
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Gregory Dipple (University of British Columbia, Canada) "Results from Recent Tests of Mine Waste as a Means to Control CO₂"
10:55 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:40 am	Ah-Hyung (Alissa) Park (Columbia University, USA) "Closing the Materials Cycle of Industrial Products via Carbon Mineralization"
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	CCUS and CDR Technologies and Their Larger Contexts The physical systems we will use to control global warming must function in a social and policy environment that accepts and encourages them. This session will examine research into how CCUS technologies fit into larger contexts, and what work is needed to create actionable paths forward. Discussion Leader: Frances Wang (ClimateWorks Foundation, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:10 pm	Holly Buck (University at Buffalo, SUNY, USA) "CCUS and CDR in the Context of Social Imperatives for Climate Mitigation"
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:40 pm	General Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:10 pm	Berend Smit (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland) "Connecting Carbon Sources and Sinks: What We Can Learn from Data"
9:10 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	BECCS, DACCS and Negative Emissions Removing CO₂ from the air is a rapidly growing area of research and development. This session will focus on the science and technology of physical removal approaches that use man-made systems to clean the atmosphere. Discussion Leader: Marcius Extavour (XPRIZE, USA)
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:40 am	Lynn Brickett (U.S. Department of Energy, USA) "Direct Air Capture: Where It's Been, Where It's Going"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:25 am	Coffee Break
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Daniel Sanchez (University of California, Berkeley, USA) "Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage"
10:55 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:40 am	Yayuan Liu (Johns Hopkins University, USA) "Chemistries, Materials, and Processes for Electrochemically Mediated Carbon Capture"
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Integrating CCUS into Low Carbon Economies CCUS systems do not exist in a vacuum, but must supply carbon management in conjunction with the electric power and industrial sectors. This system will examine how models inform and constrain the use of CCUS as part of these economic complex entities. Discussion Leader: Lynn Brickett (U.S. Department of Energy, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:10 pm	Sandra Snæbjörnsdóttir (Carbfix, Iceland) "Geologic Storage of CO2 in Iceland"
8:10 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm	Andrea Ramirez Ramirez (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands) "The Potential and Bottlenecks of Defossilizing Petrochemical Industrial Clusters"
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm	Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	General Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Systems for CO₂ Capture from Industrial Sources The capture of CO₂ from point sources and its final storage deep in the earth are the foundational elements of CCUS. In this session we will examine what progress has been made in resolving major issues, and what new science is coming to make CCUS more efficient and safe. Discussion Leader: Laura Nereng (3M, USA)
9:00 am - 9:10 am	Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:40 am	Mercedes Maroto-Valer (IDRIC, United Kingdom) "Approaches for Decarbonizing Industry"
9:40 am - 9:55 am	Discussion
9:55 am - 10:25 am	Coffee Break
10:25 am - 10:55 am	Paul Fennell (Imperial College London, United Kingdom) "CO₂ Capture from Cement Production"
10:55 am - 11:10 am	Discussion
11:10 am - 11:40 am	Rafael Broze (Microsoft, USA) "Microsoft’s Goals and Standards for Carbon Removal"
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Underground Storage of CO₂ The capture of CO₂ from point sources and its final storage deep in the earth are the foundational elements of CCUS. In this session we will examine what progress has been made in resolving major issues, and what new science is coming to make CCUS more efficient and safe. Discussion Leader: Noah McQueen (University of Pennsylvania and Heirloom Carbon, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:40 pm - 8:10 pm	Ziqiu Xue (Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE), Japan) "Solubility Trapping via Micro-Bubble Injection"
8:10 pm - 8:25 pm	Discussion
8:25 pm - 8:55 pm	Susan Hovorka (Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, USA) "Remaining Challenges in Underground Storage of CO₂"
8:55 pm - 9:10 pm	Discussion
9:10 pm - 9:20 pm	General Discussion
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Closing Remarks
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure