Nano4EARTH Roundtable Discussion on Capture, Storage, and Use of Greenhouse Gases

November 2, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
Online and Washington, D.C.

The Nano4EARTH roundtable discussion on the capture of greenhouse gases aims to identify fundamental knowledge gaps, needs, and opportunities to advance current climate mitigation goals. By convening stakeholders from different sectors, backgrounds, and expertise, the goal of this roundtable is to identify applicable lessons across the spectrum of technologies, discuss system-specific needs, scalability and commercialization challenges, and potential paths forward. While full-scale deployment of many nanotechnology-based greenhouse gas capture solutions might take longer than four years, this moderated discussion will focus on nearer-term opportunities for impact that could pave the way toward larger-scale implementation.These opportunities could have a near-term impact on reaching net-zero carbon emission, sustainable development, and overall climate targets.

The topic of this roundtable was identified at the Nano4EARTH kick-off workshop (summary readout and video archive) as a particularly promising area that could have an impact in a short time frame (four years or less). This roundtable is the third of four.

DISCUSSION SUMMARY:

Click here to download the discussion summary.

AGENDA:

November 2, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

INVITED PARTICIPANTS:

RESOURCES AND RELEVANT BACKGROUND:

Developing and scaling greenhouse capture, utilization, and long-term storage technologies is a necessary tool to achieve net-zero goals. Greenhouse gas capture can be achieved through different methods (biological, geological, and technological). Currently, there are close to 40 commercial carbon capture, utilization, and storage facilities applied to industrial processes . To achieve net-zero goals, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts 1.2 Gt CO₂ per year needs to be captured by 2050. Current facilities and projects are not on track to achieve that goal. Direct air capture (DAC) is another technological process that could help extract CO₂ directly from the atmosphere. Today, close to 160 DAC facilities have been commissioned or are at various stages of development.

Novel nanomaterials and other nanotechnology-enabled innovations can help accelerate the current timeline and decrease the cost associated with many of the technologies being used and/or developed. The goal of this roundtable is to identify the most pressing near-term knowledge gaps, needs, and opportunities that deserve our attention, as we look to accelerate the impact of these technologies at a price point of less than $100/net metric ton of CO₂-equivalent (DOE Carbon Negative Earthshot). According to a National Academies study, avoiding a climate disaster will require 10 billion tons of CO₂ emissions to be eliminated from the atmosphere each year by 2050 through decarbonization or capture.

Vision: Nanotechnology as a catalyst for innovation in key areas and industries that could help accelerate progress toward climate change mitigation and sustainable development goals in the short term.

Suggested reading

• Background
  • Nano4EARTH Kick-off Workshop
    • Summary
    • Video archive
• Climate change technology needs
  • U.S. innovation to meet 2050 climate goals , White House
  • Net-zero by 2050: a roadmap for the global energy sector , International Energy Agency
    • Updates since publication
  • UN sustainable development goals
  • Project Drawdown
  • U.S. DOE carbon negative earthshot
• Technology opportunities (illustrative examples)
  • Carbon capture and storage (CCS): the way forward
  • The technological and economic prospects for CO₂ utilization and removal
  • Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) in clean energy transition
  • Direct air capture
  • Critical review on carbon-based nanomaterial for carbon capture: technical challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives
  • Carbon capture and conversion using metal-organic frameworks and MOF-based materials
  • Progress in adsorption capacity of nanomaterials for carbon dioxide capture: A comparative study

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Maria Fernanda Campa