Simon Page
Associate Group Leader in the Materials for Energy and Climate Security group
Materials Science Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

From Molecules to Megatons: Engineering CO₂ Capture, Conversion, and Removal

Abstract: Addressing climate change is important not only for protecting the environment, but also for reducing the impacts of destructive weather events, maintaining human health, and enabling energy security. The scale of the challenge is significant—global energy demand and our reliance on heavy industry continues to grow as the standard of living increases. Meeting climate goals will require, among other solutions, reducing ongoing emissions and developing strategies to manage the carbon dioxide (CO2) already produced, while simultaneously prioritizing energy reliability and affordability. Decarbonizing the industrial and energy systems through CO₂ capture and conversion can help lower the carbon intensity of essential products and fuels while leveraging existing infrastructure and promoting a diverse portfolio of energy generation. Additional approaches that remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere and store it durably offer a complementary pathway to address residual and historic emissions. 

In this talk, I will share some of our recent efforts aimed at understanding the chemistry of and developing materials, technologies, and systems for CO2 capture and conversion. First, I will discuss our work developing a material and process for cyclic capture and conversion of CO2 to synthetic methane from the lens of energy storage. Next, I will share highlights from a study examining the national potential for engineered systems to contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) and direct air capture and storage (DACS). Finally, I will share some of our work on understanding the chemistry and improving the performance and lifetime of materials for DAC, highlighting the interplay between chemistry and process engineering.

Biography: Simon is an Associate Group Leader in the Materials for Energy and Climate Security group in the Materials Science Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), leads the Carbon Capture pillar of LLNL's Carbon Initiative, and was the recipient of LLNL’s ninth annual Early- and Mid-Career Recognition Award. Simon received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and was a postdoc at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research spans materials design and system analysis for separations and catalysis in carbon and energy technologies, including carbon capture and conversion.