Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

This proposal outlines a five-year research program focused on accelerating the discovery and translation of decarbonization technologies. The program has four areas united by a central theme of using electrochemical reactors that generate "reactive hydrogen" to enable new chemistries: I. Integrated CO2 capture and utilization: Our previous Discovery Grant enabled us to pioneer "bicarbonate electrolyzers" that directly convert CO2 air capture solutions into fuels and other chemicals (a process also known as "reactive carbon capture"). We will elaborate on this discovery by developing reactors capable of both CO2 capture and conversion into CO with high energy efficiencies. We will leverage our expertise in self-driving robots to build an AI-driven automated platform that accelerates the optimization of electrolyzer components and aligns reaction conditions for both an air capture unit and electrolyzer. II. Mineralization for long-term CO2 storage: The mineralization of CO2 in silicate rocks could store 105 gigatons of CO2, but natural weathering is slow; merely 0.1 gigaton of CO2 from the atmosphere is stored in silicate rocks. Our mission is to accelerate this process. We will build a "Mineralization Reactor" that accelerates the natural weathering of silicate minerals to create a new avenue for large-scale CO2 storage. III. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs): Challenges associated with the transportation and storage of H2 fuels have long constrained the hydrogen economy. A potential solution is to store hydrogen in chemical bonds of LOHCs. LOHCs, which have hydrogen densities comparable to compressed H2 gas, can be stored and transported in a liquid state using existing fossil fuel infrastructure. While this concept is known, the current method relies on thermochemistry to (de)hydrogenate LOHCs. Our program intends to introduce "membrane reactors" to this nascent field, to (de)hydrogenate at ambient conditions and use water, rather than natural gas, as a hydrogen source. IV. Advanced nuclear fusion: Our group recently commissioned the "Thunderbird Reactor", a fusion reactor featuring a metal cathode target that can be electrochemically loaded with deuterium. This reactor integrates electrochemistry and fusion sciences in previously unexplored ways. Now we will test the hypothesis that electrochemical loading of deuterium into a target will increase fusion rates. Every project my program takes on must have potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10%. Using this guiding principle, my team has identified lines of inquiry that will advance the career development of my academic trainees, influence government policy, and advance technology commercialization. We actively promote equity, diversity, and inclusion to achieve these goals.