Dr. Uisung Lee is an Energy Systems Analyst in the Systems Assessment Center of the Energy Systems and Infrastructure Analysis Division at Argonne National Laboratory. His expertise mainly focuses on conducting life-cycle analyses (LCAs) of various energy systems to evaluate the environmental impacts such as life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel use, air pollutant emissions, and water consumption. The systems include but are not limited to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), CO2 utilization, and waste-to-energy pathways. He supports the development of the GREET (The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies) model, an LCA model developed by Argonne that is structured to systematically examine the life-cycle energy use and emissions. He is a nominated expert to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Fuels Task Group (FTG) for evaluating core LCA values of aviation fuels. 

Countries around the world are driving ahead with renewable energy to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Still, existing and new fossil power plants and difficult-to-electrify industrial facilities will continue to operate well into the middle of this century. Capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) and preventing it from ever entering the atmosphere is increasingly regarded as crucial to achieving a net zero energy future.

Casie Davidson is leading the way on CO₂ capture and storage technologies to see that carbon stored underground stays put. “We’re seeing consensus across the research community that CCS technologies are essential to meeting climate goals in both the developed and developing world,” Davidson said. “CCS allows us to reduce emissions while buying us time to mature critical technologies like grid-scale energy storage.”

The story is far from over once the CO₂ is captured. “Whether you capture it from a power, steel or ethanol plant—or the atmosphere itself—you have to do something with it,” Davidson said. She and colleagues are also working to close the carbon cycle by transforming captured CO₂ into commodities like building materials and fuels. “At the end of the day though, all but a tiny fraction will need to be stored underground.”

As a geologist and an economist, Davidson navigates among key disciplines required to advance carbon capture and storage: engineering, economics, geology, and policy. She led a 2017 study that found carbon capture could cut the cost of meeting Paris climate agreement emissions targets in half, providing cost-effective options for reducing CO₂ emissions until energy storage and widespread electrification are ready for primetime. “There’s no silver bullet for climate change,” Davidson said. “But fighting it with carbon capture and storage in our tool kit could double the value of all our other climate investments, which just might make the difference.”