Partner Profile: Arno Zimmermann 

"Seeing the sunset and sunrise also reminds me to be humble and think beyond myself. There have been many generations before us, and there will be many more after us. Let's leave them a planet that they also can live on." 

This newsletter issue features Dr. Arno Zimmermann, Spark e-Fuels Co-Founder.

(Photo courtesy of juliantse.com.)

Dr. Arno Zimmermann is passionate about creating cleantech products. He has been working on sustainable chemistry, and energy technology products for global corporations, start-ups and academia. He earned his engineering PhD from Technische Universität Berlin, where he analyzed the techno-economics of using CO₂ as a resource. Zimmermann co-founded three sustainability start-ups and was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30. In his spare time he DJs, produces techno house music, and organizes electronic music events around Berlin.

Sustainability and product development are two main themes of your activity. How did you become interested in these topics?

I think it really goes back to how I grew up. I was a child in the 1990s, in East Germany. A lot of transitions at the time were economic, but you could see the impacts of the East German economy on the environment.The river was a bit smelly from acidic rain and some parts of the nearby forest were destroyed. I could see with my own eyes the impact of Germany being a heavily industrialized and densely populated country and I knew that I had to get involved.

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When I was a young student, I went to the Copenhagen Climate Conference and I saw the amount of people involved and the activism around sustainability. I also learned about the difficulties of making sustainability change happen. The fact that it's not easy actually motivates me–we have to reinvent all these things which have already been invented. From an engineering perspective, this is a really cool opportunity. Before it was more about optimizing, i.e., making things cost less or work better. But now, it's really about fundamentally changing things and doing so quickly. 

News in a Nutshell

"Carbon Dioxide Removal Primer" Soon Available in Print - Sign Up Here to be Notified of Availability

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Summary: Energy and Climate Provisions

Robert Niven, CEO of CarbonCure, on the potential to turn thousands of concrete plants into carbon removal factories

Imminent Events

Utilizing captured CO₂: the path to achieving its potential. Report launch webinar.

September 22, 2022

Which carbon capture and utilization technologies will deliver the highest climate benefits and yield a profit? Among those, which are ready for deployment now? The Global CO₂ Initiative will releasing a research report and holding a webinar to summarize key findings. Watch our social media and website for more information.

Innovations in Climate Resilience

March 28-30, 2023

ICR23 continues the mission of leading innovations in climate resilience with the theme “Bold Leaps and Action.” The focus areas of the conference include restoring our ecosystems, enabling adaptation of our built infrastructure and societies, improving human health, boosting national security, securing the food supply, and dramatically reducing the trajectory of causative factors.

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