Using Nature's CO2 Sink to Convert Carbon from Challenge to Economic Opportunity: Are Biological Capture and Utilization Technologies Ready to Deliver?

Algae and other microorganisms are among the planet’s most effective mechanisms for conversion of CO2 to usable energy and other essential elements.  A growing wave of innovation is seeking to harness this capacity to transform the challenge of carbon emissions into a new industrial paradigm in which CO2 is valued as a commodity rather than viewed as concern. Rapid advances in biotechnology and systems engineering have moved biological capture technology out of the lab and into pilot and demonstration. Algae-based carbon utilization projects representing more than $1 billion in private and public funding are now operating in a half dozen states, with at least one platform poised to deploy at full commercial scale in co-location with a major fossil fuel power plant. Emerging opportunities in high value markets such as human and animal nutrition, bio-fertilizers and plastics have expanded end-use options beyond biofuels. While the technology for algae and other biological platforms for carbon utilization is advancing rapidly, federal policy for carbon utilization has been slow to recognize the opportunity. This panel will review the state of biological CO2 utilization projects in the U.S. and identify key federal policy challenges and opportunities.

Moderator
Matt Carr, Executive Director, Algae Biomass Organization

Speakers
Noah Deich, Executive Director, Center for Carbon Removal
Tom Jensen, Executive Vice President, Joule
Laurel Harmon, Vice President Government Relations, LanzaTech
Mark Allen, Vice President - Integrated Carbon Solutions, Accelergy
Jack Groppo, Program Manager/Sr. Engineer, Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky (invited)