NETL and members of the nation’s energy and manufacturing industries came together Oct. 21 to commence the long-awaited Department of Energy (DOE) InnovationXLab CarbonX Summit, sharing ideas and pitching novel solutions to new challenges facing the power generation sector and economy as a whole. The central theme of this CarbonX Summit was societal use and reuse of carbon spanning from the production of energy to reduction of emissions to manufacturing of commercial goods.

The entirely virtual CarbonX Summit showcased DOE technologies and the national laboratories’ capabilities at the heart of the domestic energy economy, from production to utilization to reuse.

With panels including representatives of major industry players such as Chevron, Dow Chemical, Air Products and General Electric, as well as presentations from speakers including DOE Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes and DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg, day one of the summit united NETL scientists and technical leaders with industry and other DOE national laboratories.

“I was pleased by the breadth of industry participation in our first day and the richness of the technical discussion,” NETL Director Brian Anderson said. “NETL, DOE, and industry are steadfastly committed to creating the new technologies that revolutionize our use and reuse of carbon, including advanced carbon materials and the role of carbon in the hydrogen and circular economies. I look forward to what the rest of the CarbonX Summit holds.”

Day one of the CarbonX Summit featured panels covering the significance of collaboration and laboratory/industry partnerships, the hydrogen-carbon economy, carbon fibers and materials, and carbon to chemicals and the circular value chain. Day two will highlight the topics of artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as carbon capture, utilization and sequestration.

Prior to the CarbonX Summit, NETL organized virtual events to prepare participants and attendees for the critical technical exchanges that would occur at the virtual summit. The first webinar, held June 23, focused on “The Future of Carbon: Conversion Engineering” and featured speakers from ExxonMobil, Carbon Engineering, and Ramaco Carbon addressing direct air capture, along with high-value products from natural gas and coal. The second webinar, titled “Downstream Opportunities & Advancements,” took place Aug. 4 and featured two industry-lab success story highlights.

The CarbonX Summit is the seventh in the InnovationXLab Series designed to showcase the remarkable assets of DOE’s national laboratories. InnovationXLab summits facilitate a two-way exchange of information and ideas between industry, universities, manufacturers, investors and end-use customers with innovators and experts from across the national laboratories and broader DOE research and development complex.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that produces technological solutions for America’s energy challenges. From developing creative innovations and efficient energy systems that make coal more competitive, to advancing technologies that enhance oil and natural gas extraction and transmission processes, NETL research is providing breakthroughs and discoveries that support domestic energy initiatives, stimulate a growing economy, and improve the health, safety, and security of all Americans. Highly skilled men and women at NETL’s sites in Albany, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; Houston, Texas; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania conduct a broad range of research activities that support DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.