Partner Profile: Volker Sick | |
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"Carbon dioxide capture and utilization offers us the opportunity to help stabilize the climate, to ensure continued access to products that cannot be made without carbon, and to add critically needed jobs especially in underserved regions of the world. These are all urgent needs that require swift and large-scale action."
This issue of the GCI newsletter features Volker Sick, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Mechanical Engineering, DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research, and Director of the Global CO
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How did the Global CO2 Initiative come about?
The Global CO2 Initiative (GCI) was actually put together by CO2 Sciences, Inc., a not-for-profit company founded and led by Bernard David in San Francisco. It was publicly announced at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In parallel, at the University of Michigan, a seed-funding program at the Energy Institute launched an effort called Beyond Carbon Neutral. The two organizations coordinated conversations about common goals and challenges and quickly realized that joining forces would accelerate progress and increase impact. I was charged in early 2018 with overseeing the merger of the two efforts and to lead it as an effort at the University of Michigan.
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What is unique about the GCI?
Our focus is on enabling the utilization of captured CO2 to make products that will generate revenue and thereby reduce the burden to taxpayers compared to CO2 storage. Utilizing the carbon from CO2 instead of virgin fossil carbon to make products also ensures that no additional carbon will be added to the atmosphere. As a global umbrella organization, we convene and accelerate research, development and deployment by working with research organizations (academic, government, and commercial) and funding sources (angels, institutional, government, and commercial) throughout the world. We lead other organizations worldwide by engaging all stakeholders in the ecosystem to develop the educational discipline of carbon capture and utilization, to create the global standard tools that accelerate a system-level process of technology assessment, and to accelerate the translation of research to development and market introduction and broad-scale deployment.
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What do you hope the GCI will accomplish?
Our mission is to get CO2 capture and use recognized and implemented as a mainstream climate solution. This requires leading and accelerating the world in building a marketplace to capture and transform CO2 into commercially sustainable products that harness 4Gt/year of CO2. By working with researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers, we hope that we will enable CO2 utilization technologies to flourish quickly, to help address climate change effects, and in the process also contribute to an economic expansion that brings additional jobs that can be specifically deployed in regions with the most desperate needs for employment.
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In what ways do you see the current US presidential administration impacting the CCU arena?
To begin with, the rejoining of the Paris Agreement sent important signals about the commitment of the administration to address climate change with the necessary rigor, depth, and speed. The administration’s broader view is important to help us address climate change while also fostering a stronger economy, with improved equity in access to energy, clean water, and employment opportunities. It is recognized that achieving a net-zero carbon economy at any time will require some level of carbon dioxide capture and utilization even once we have stopped producing oil, coal, and natural gas for energy and manufacturing. There are just too many industrial processes that cannot be decarbonized. Process CO2 emissions from, for example, cement, steel and even bio-ethanol production must also be captured and handled. This fact is fully recognized by the current administration, but they have still not completely recognized and adopted the full value and opportunities for utilizing captured CO2 to make products, instead of just storing it underground.
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How did you become interested in the carbon dioxide capture area?
For many years, my research focused on foundational and practical aspects to increase combustion efficiency and to reduce pollutant emissions from internal combustion engines. While fantastic advances were made, I realized that this was not enough and that I wanted to contribute in broader ways to enable what is necessary to rapidly achieve a net-zero CO2 emissions future to stabilize the planet’s climate. While new technologies are necessary to tackle this endeavor, it is essential to build any effort to address climate change effects on holistic approaches that start with societal needs, consider economic drivers, and are developed with sound scientific approaches. During my time as Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan, I was fortunate to work with faculty, students, and staff from around the university and beyond to build up new research collaborations and centers. This experience helped shape my thinking and planning on how to advance and use carbon dioxide capture for societal benefits.
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You recently published some research about people’s attitudes towards using products made with captured CO2. How are products made with captured CO2 different from conventionally made products?
There are several aspects to this question. First, consumers might take issue with the source of the CO2 when considering whether they would use a particular product. For example, captured CO2 can be used to carbonate beverages such as beer or soft drinks. A consumer survey showed us that there was a reduced level of acceptance of such beverages if the source of the CO2 is a coal-fired power plant compared to capturing it from air. Second, it will depend on the type of product. Beyond beverages, or other food items, examples of CO2-made products (plastics, chemicals, concrete, etc.) will incorporate the CO2 with even stronger chemical bonds and then it is no longer a gas, it can no longer escape, and it is indistinguishable from the same product if it were made with carbon from petroleum or plants. This is analogous to plants capturing CO2 from air and then using it to produce the fibers that constitute the wood of a tree, the leaves of lettuce, and the roots of carrots.
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We usually do not think too much about how much chemistry is involved in producing everyday goods. Most consumers are not aware of details about the origin of the raw materials and the reactions needed to produce what we use and eat. A fascinating related book, though not about CO2-made products, is “Twinkie, Deconstructed.” The technological use of CO2, compared to plants using it, is new to most consumers and it falls upon us to inform and educate about these products and to show that they are safe to use.
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Is there anything else that I should have asked you?
We could have talked about the passionate team that I am fortunate enough to work with in the Global CO2 Initiative. Researchers, staff, our Advisory Board members, collaborators, and also our donors--all are critically important to the success of our mission! I want to specifically emphasize contributions from donors that enable us to operate this Initiative within a university setting, where the type of convening and service work that we provide does not typically find support and is otherwise impossible to maintain. Thank you!
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AI & Technology Live
October 20 - 21
The two-day event will bring together leading engineering firms, technology manufacturers and suppliers, energy firms, the oil and gas sector, heavy industry, chemical companies, various manufacturing organizations, research groups and NGOs, consultants, and government bodies to explore how we can rapidly accelerate the deployment and commercialization of carbon-capture technologies as a key solution on the pathway to net-zero carbon emissions. For more information, please click here.
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