CERC to host third Carbon Management and Energy Innovation Symposium

The California Energy Research Center (CERC) at California State University, Bakersfield will host its third annual Carbon Management and Energy Innovation Technical Symposium on April 12. Experts from academia, industry and government will join to talk about issues and opportunities related to carbon and energy.

"Once again this year, we have organized an exciting, diverse array of speakers and panelists to address carbon management issues and energy innovations of importance to the Central Valley and beyond," said organizer Dr. Anthony Rathburn, interim CERC director and CSUB professor of geology.

Since 2022, CERC has held the symposium to discuss the latest developments in carbon management and renewable energy technology, both major keys to mitigating global climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change; one way of managing CO2 is to capture it from the atmosphere and store it securely underground.

"As the energy capital of California, Kern County has a long history of energy innovation and is playing a vital role in California's efforts of reaching carbon neutrality by 2045," Dr. Rathburn said. "The acceleration of renewable energy production in Kern and the collaborative capability to use the county's subsurface geological features to store carbon and house hydrogen and geothermal energy sources keep Kern in the forefront of conversations about energy transition solutions."

Dr. Rathburn went on to explain how the unique geological formations under Kern County make it an especially promising site for long-term, underground carbon storage. The region's leading role in renewable energies and potential for carbon storage would make it a model for other innovative solutions in the United States, he said.

"Increasingly effective emissions and capture technologies provide the keys to safe, effective means to reduce and remove CO2 and CO emissions from power plants, industrial producers and directly from the air," Dr. Rathburn said, adding that the captured emissions can be reused for products or transported for storage. "Kern County has the natural, subsurface storage features and the workforce expertise - including detailed knowledge of the subsurface geology and the technological skills - for the wide variety of carbon management activities."

The symposium will cover various topics related to carbon management, an umbrella term that includes carbon capture, removal, transport, reuse and storage technologies. Panelists and speakers will discuss topics such as the costs and benefits of carbon removal, the challenges of hydrogen storage, gas transport from source to storage, community benefit plans, risk assessments for underground storage, and carbon mineralization.

"The annual CERC symposium offers a means for world-class scientists, educators, community leaders, government policy makers and industry innovators to come together to discuss carbon management issues, emerging technologies and innovative strategies that will address energy solutions," Dr. Rathburn said.

While in-person attendance is limited to those who have received personal invitations, all are welcome to join the free, live webinar. Those attending virtually will still be able to engage with the conversations being had at the symposium and can ask questions of speakers and panelists through the livestream.

The CERC Carbon Management and Energy Innovation Technical Symposium is a joint effort with the Livermore Lab Foundation. The presenting sponsor is Chevron. Along with Dr. Rathburn, the event is organized by Dr. Liaosha Song (Director of the California Well Sample Repository) and Dr. Jane Dong, dean of CSUB's School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering.

A full schedule of the event follows:

• 8:15 a.m.: Welcome and introductions with Dr. Liaosha Song (Director of California Well Sample Repository), Dr. Jane Dong (Dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering) and Dr. Vernon Harper (Interim President of CSUB)
• 8:40 a.m.: "Roads to Removal: A Comprehensive Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Removal Options in the United States" with Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL)
• 9:20 a.m.: "Storage Underground: Innovations, Challenges and Opportunities" with panelists Matt Herman (CSUB), Rob Trautz (EPRI) and Mike Umbro (Premier Resource Management), moderated by Lisa Alpert (Aera Energy)
• 10 a.m.: Break
• 10:30 a.m.: "DAC Hubs: Innovative Energy Solutions" with panelists Jonathan Dethloff (Aera), Ken Haney (CRC), Louise Bedsworth (UC Berkeley) and Alexei Vyssotski (Chevron New Energies), moderated by Preston Jordon (LBNL)
• 11:10 a.m.: "Building Together: Advancing Community Benefits in California" with Ann Rogan (Edge Collaborative)
• 11:30 a.m.: "Energy Innovations and Decarbonization: Internal and External Company Strategies" with panelists Melinda Palmer (Kern Energy) and Meghan Kenny (Carbon Capture), moderated by Nyakundi Michieka (CSUB)
• Noon: "Carbon Mineralization in California" with Briana Schmidt (LLNL)
• 12:20 p.m.: Break
• 1:30 p.m.: "Hydrogen Storage: Innovation, Challenges and Opportunities" with panelists Wesley Lien (Novohydrogen) and Nico Bouwkamp (GTI Energy), and Mallika Mukundan (Chevron New Energies Hydrogen) moderated by John Thompson (CCST)
• 2 p.m.: "Quantifying and Reducing Subsurface Risk in CO2 Storage Projects" with Creties Jenkins (ROSE Subsurface Assessment)
• 2:20 p.m.: "The Role of Connective Infrastructure for Carbon Management" with Armando Infanzon (SoCalGas)
• 2:40 p.m.: Closing remarks with Dr. James Rodriguez (Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, CSUB) and Dr. Liaosha Song

For more on the symposium, please visit the event's webpage. Register for the webinar here.

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