Partner Profile: Dr Anne Shim

“The problems our planet is facing are unprecedented. Many people are already experiencing the symptoms of more erratic weather. I do believe that no nation, and no single group of nations, can change the path our planet is on. It will take all of us coming together. " 

This issue features Dr. Anne Shim, Head of Advanced Materials and Systems Research, NA, at BASF.

Dr. Shim leads a cross-functional research group including teams in Formulations, Monomer and Polymer, and Analytical sciences as well as a Pilot plant for scale-up. Prior to this, she held positions as the director of New Product Development for BASF’s Performance Materials division in North America, as the Director of Technology and Quality for the Coatings Division. She has been part of global and regional business leadership during her various tenures at BASF. Anne received her PhD in Polymer Science from the University of Akron, Ohio. She also holds a Masters in Polymer Science from the University of Akron and a Masters of Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark.

How many languages do you speak? 

I am fluent in Danish and English and know a little German and Spanish, as well.

How did you become interested in this field?

I knew I wanted to go into STEM and was considering statistics. My father connected me with people in the insurance industry and though the math was really interesting, I thought it was not quite what I liked to do. I had been exposed to chemistry and engineering from an early age as both my parents hold advanced degrees in chemistry and my mother was a professor of chemistry at the Technical University of Denmark. I liked the industry focus of engineering vs the academic focus. So that is how I chose.

How did you happen to decide to go to graduate school in Ohio?

I became interested in polymer science when I was in High School in Denmark. Unfortunately, the university I went to only offered two classes on this topic. So eventually I started to look around. I read papers and decided that the University of Akron had some very interesting topics and professors. I was fortunate enough to get admitted into an excellent program and worked with some of the most amazing people there.

Could you describe what you do at BASF?

I connect science, customer needs and people. For example, the world needs more responsible inhabitants—and most consumers want to maintain the standard of living that they have today. To accomplish both, society's best minds must use their scientific knowledge to reduce and avoid waste and to use renewable raw materials. We are already doing this at BASF. To further enhance sustainability, we need to address some technically difficult challenges. Luckily, we have scientists and engineers who are exceptional and excel at solving challenging questions. My job is to connect all of these people and topics.

How did you come to be involved with the Global CO₂ Initiative?

I became involved with the Global CO₂ initiative when I took on my current position on the GCI Advisory Board. I really appreciate this opportunity, as sustainability is so critical for our near future.

How would you describe your role on the GCI board?

I am one of the voices of industry—I bring in the perspective of how industry might accomplish our goals with the constraints currently being faced.

Everyone on the GCI board is very dedicated to improving the outlook for our planet. The problem is clearly defined: our society must control the increase of CO₂ in the atmosphere to avoid seeing a global change in the climate. As the amount of CO2 has increased, the climate has become more unstable with more “100 year events” per year.

There are many ways to impact this, including by controlling the amount of CO₂ emitted from all sources and sequestering or reusing CO₂.

What is your evaluation of COP26? 

History will tell us what the true impact is. I was glad to see the event take place and glad that India took a strong stance for the first time. I also believe that a number of peer discussions were started. I would have liked to see a stronger, more united final statement.

The problems our planet is facing are unprecedented. Many people are already experiencing the symptoms of more erratic weather. I do believe that no nation, and no single group of nations, can change the path our planet is on. It will take all of us coming together.

Naturally, this is fraught with issues. Unfortunately, time is not on our side. We must act now and act together.

What do you see as the future of CCU?

Carbon capture and utilization is part of the solution to the current challenge. As our society is not on track to meet the goal to control CO₂ to control temperature rise through preventive means, taking CO₂ out of the atmosphere is an important and available tool. We can do this today from a scientific perspective. However, there are two main questions: a) cost and b) what to do with the CO₂.

One viable solution is to sequester CO₂ underground. BASF is currently evaluating this opportunity for our Antwerp site in Europe—together with Antwerp@C consortium there is the potential of storing more than 1 million metric ton of CO₂ emissions per year under the North Sea.

Long term, society needs to find other uses for CO₂. The challenge is that CO₂ is such a stable molecule – often it takes more energy to incorporate it than is removed from the atmosphere. New catalytic and enzymatic pathways are needed to overcome this challenge.

Call for Volunteers



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News in a Nutshell

Policy critical to unlock Carbon Capture and Utilisation in Europe

DOE Seeks Information on Deployment-Ready Carbon Reduction and Removal Technologies

Trial project to test the world's first modular CO₂-capture service

Innovation Award “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2022”

Alabama Habitat House built with sustainable low-carbon technology

Decarb Connect Global Festival

January 25-27

The Decarb Connect Global Festival brings together global leaders tasked with decarbonisation in energy-intensive industries such as steel, chemicals, power, cement and oil & gas for three days of open and engaging discussions.For more information or to register, click here.

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