(265a) We Can Use Carbon to Decarbonize—and Get Hydrogen for Free

Constraints on CO2 emissions are confronting society with multiple massive challenges: creating new sources of clean energy beyond solar and wind; electrifying our transportation systems and using lighter weight materials; decarbonizing the industrial sector; and dealing with the economic fallout associated with shrinking the fossil hydrocarbon industry, which accounts for about 7% of the world economy. At first blush, the solutions to these dilemmas appear to be at odds with one another. In this lecture, I will show that there may be a way forward that positively influences all of these aims [1]: Our vision is a zero-emission future, where large scale technology is deployed to co-produce clean hydrogen and carbon materials that house, move, clothe, and feed people. To foster this vision, we have established the Carbon Hub [2] as a non-competitive partnership of industry, academia, government, and non-profit organizations.

1. Pasquali, C. Mesters, Opinion: We can use carbon to decarbonize—and get hydrogen for free. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 118, e2112089118, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2112089118
2. https://carbonhub.rice.edu/