Curtis P. Berlinguette - Materials Seminar

From eV to the MeV: Electrochemical Reactors for Carbon and Colder Fusion

Curtis P. Berlinguette 
The University of British Columbia
Department of Chemistry and Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering

Our program builds electrochemical technologies to tackle decarbonization. On one front, we are advancing reactive carbon capture reactors that directly convert CO₂ from air or industrial streams into fuels and chemicals, eliminating the costly separation steps that burden conventional capture and conversion pathways. On another front, we are building benchtop fusion reactors to demonstrate how electrochemistry at the eV scale can influence nuclear fusion processes at the MeV scale. Together, these efforts illustrate a unifying theme of using electrochemistry as a lever for planetary decarbonization.

Prof. Curtis P. Berlinguette leads an interdisciplinary team that designs and builds electrochemical reactors to accelerate decarbonization. Dr. Berlinguette is a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia, where he is a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical & Biological Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His academic group helped launch the field of self-driving labs and has advanced a range of clean energy applications including CO2 capture and utilization, membrane reactors for decarbonizing the chemicals industry, and lower-temperature fusion.

Host: Assistant Professor Chibueze Amanchukwu