Gaps and Barriers to Carbon Management Technologies: Outcomes of the Founder Societies Technologies for Carbon Management Workshop

A workshop on addressing gaps and barriers to lowering carbon emissions in electric power and transportation was held October 21-22, 2009 in Baltimore, Maryland. In this webinar, we will summarize the outcomes of the workshop, and elaborate on the path determined for 2010.

Electric power and transportation options to meet demand for energy with low greenhouse gas emissions face a variety of gaps in the technologies and understanding of the systems that make up each option. Many of the promising options to meet demand with low greenhouse gas emissions are not mature, and there are major gaps to be addressed. In addition, there are significant barriers to each option's deployment at a pace that may prove appropriate to manage the risks of climate change.

For the most promising options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in electric power generation and in the transportation sector, The Founder Societies (AIChE, AIME, ASCE, ASME, IEEE) Technologies for Carbon Management Project brought together thought leaders influencing, for example, public policy, R&D activity, and the actions of professional societies. The workshop objectives were to:

• Identify the principal knowledge and technology gaps and implementation barriers
• Define approaches to the resolution of these gaps and barriers
• Define what roles Engineering Societies may take in resolving the principal gaps and barriers

The Workshop planning committee included leaders from the Founder Societies:

• Haroon Kheshgi, AIME, Planning Committee Chair
• Arnold Feldman, ASME
• Dale Keairns, AIChE
• Veronika Rabl, IEEE
• Richard Wright, ASCE

The webinar will be presented by Dr. Haroon S. Kheshgi, Global Climate Change Program Leader, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, with an introduction by Dale Keairns, Chair AIChE Energy Initiative and Executive Advisor Booz Allen Hamilton.