Carbon Capture and Conversion Workshop

ARPA-E and the Department of Energy's Office of Vehicle Technologies held a workshop on the topic of energy storage for vehicles on November 3, 2009 in Arlington, VA. The objectives of this workshop were to elicit a deeper understanding of the performance and cost factors that hinder the adoption of technologies for capture of carbon dioxide and conversion to useful commercial products, as well as to identify emerging opportunities/challenges for transformational "over the horizon" new technology approaches that may be appropriate for ARPA-E support.

This workshop served as an opportunity for ARPA-E leadership to engage with recognized experts to obtain insight on carbon capture and conversion technology areas appropriate for, and in strong need of, transformational technology development. ARPA-E will use this information to shape the scope and focus of potential future programs.

Proceedings from the meeting are summarized below. 

Speakers and Presentations: 1. Jared Ciferno and Geo Richards, National Energy Technology Laboratory “NETL Existing Plants and FE-BES Workshop” (pdf) 2. Howard Herzog, Massachusetts Institute of Technology “CO2 Capture Strategies” (pdf) 3. Berend Smit, UC-Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory “CO2 Conversion" (pdf)   Breakout Sessions: During the workshop, participants broke into four groups, first to discuss various carbon capture strategies.  The second breakout session highlighted conversion alternatives to geologic sequestration.  Following the breakout sessions, each group made a short summary slide of what they discussed.  The breakout session results are contained within the Carbon Capture and Conversion Workshop Summary Report (pdf).