Even if we could totally decarbonize electricity, we would still emit vast quantities of greenhouse gases from burning fuels for transportation. Catalysis today enables the production of important industrial chemicals and in the future has huge potential to produce fuels from renewable sources like sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Expanding our knowledge of how we can accelerate and catalyze chemical reactions efficiently and sustainably is a major global challenge relative to achieving a clean energy economy.
This is the challenge Thomas Jaramillo’s work addresses. Through electrochemical investigation, he is discovering sustainable pathways for the production of fuels and chemicals. His Resonate Award winning work focuses on the creation of materials at the atomic scale that drive chemical reactions important for renewable energy production and storage. His endeavors have led to the discovery of stable, earth-abundant catalysts for renewable hydrogen production from water and for converting CO2 into fuels and chemicals in a sustainable manner. Jaramillo’s materials can replace expensive and scarce metals currently used, and thus improve the economics of sustainable fuel production.
