Carbon Capture and Storage

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) (or carbon capture and sequestration or carbon control and sequestration) is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, such as fossil fuel power plants, transporting it to a storage site, and depositing it where it will not enter the atmosphere, normally an underground geological formation. The aim is to prevent the release of large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere (from fossil fuel use in power generation and other industries). Source: Wikipedia

To battle climate change, scientists tap into carbon-hungry microorganisms for clues

November 30, 2022

Illustration of carbon reduction cycle

New technique could fast-track future carbon-free solar fuels. (image: 3rdtimeluckystudio/Shutterstock)

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have demonstrated a new technique, modeled after a metabolic process found in some bacteria, for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into liquid acetate, a key...

Drop in CO2 emissions during pandemic previews world of electric vehicles

November 10, 2020

In the six weeks after the San Francisco Bay Area instituted the nation’s first shelter-in-place mandate in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, regional carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 25%, almost all of it due to a nearly 50% drop in road traffic, according to new study from the University of California, Berkeley.

Though emissions have steadily increased since then, the dramatic response to a sharp cut-off in vehicular fossil fuel burning shows how effectively a move toward broad use of electric-powered vehicles would reduce the major greenhouse gas responsible for...

College startups featured at SkyDeck’s annual Demo Day

February 11, 2020

SkyDeck demo day

Investors and academics came from around the world to watch presentations from Berkeley SkyDeck startups last week. It is the fourth annual demo day held on UC Berkeley’s campus. Photo: Brittany Hosea-Small, UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley is not just one of the best research universities in the world, but also a unique place for entrepreneurs, students and alumni to grow and build...

A simple, cheap material for carbon capture, perhaps from tailpipes

August 10, 2022

Illustration of a new method for removing CO2.

Carbon dioxide (depicted in red and white at left) is the main greenhouse gas warming Earth and is emitted in large quantities in the flue gas from industrial and power plants. A new method for removing CO2 from these flue gases involves piping the emissions through a porous material based on the chemical melamine (center). DETA, a chemical bound inside the porous melamine...

Omar Yaghi wins prestigious Tang Prize for Sustainable Development

June 18, 2024
Yaghi wins in recognition of his groundbreaking efforts founding and advancing the field of reticular chemistry.

Berkeley’s ecosystem of innovation, entrepreneurship combats climate change

May 16, 2024
UC Berkeley faculty are fast-tracking the development of new and creative climate solutions.

Berkeley’s Jeffrey Reimer will receive AIChE’s Warren K. Lewis Award for ChE education

October 16, 2023
Professor Jeffrey Reimer is being recognized for outstanding contributions to chemical engineering education based on accomplishments in classroom teaching, course development, authorship of teaching texts, and departmental chairmanship, as well as excellence in research.

An unexpected discovery at the air-water interface

December 4, 2023
Research led by Richard Saykally reveals a surprising chemical pathway for a CO2 reaction important in many geological and biological processes.

Tiny microbes could brew big benefits for green biomanufacturing

May 10, 2023

Green industrial illustration

A team of scientists from the College of Chemistry and Berkeley Lab find a new route in bacteria to decarbonize industry. The discovery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of fuels, drugs, and chemicals. Specifically, the team is looking at a metabolic process in bacteria that could be a sustainable source of carbon-based...

Startup to Sale: How alumnus Tom McDonald co-founded and built Mosaic Materials

May 13, 2022

Tom McDonald, chemistry Ph.D. alum 2015

Baker Hughes has acquired the startup Mosaic Materials and plans to deploy its carbon dioxide capture technology across the industrial value chain.

Tom McDonald (Ph.D. '15, Chem) was going to be a professor. That was the plan. He even had a postdoc lined up at Imperial College London and...