CTO Challenge Breakout Session

Carbon approach: sequester carbon, break it down and put into storage.

Using other techniques to get carbon output down so that CCS is only part of the problem.

Complex challenge with global scope– Local decision making with global implications, timely delivery of solution under question.

To actually represent the costs of energy, taxes on energy are going to be 30-40% of current cost.

Biggest challenge is messaging — US will need to be a major driver and the public will have to support this effort.

Looking at real cost today and comparing that with cost. Doubling of price of electricity.

If we want to have new plants and use modern technology, we need to move from coal based energy base to a natural gas based.

Available methods of carbon sequestration:

1. Storage options – placed into ground in different locations, either in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, beneath deep saline formations onshore and offshore, using CO2 to drive out methane. Once it’s stored, not a high rate of leakage, but there are techniques to put carbon in the ground. Any one failing won’t destroy the world. Use tankers to transport carbon off-shore and bury it.

2. Re-use — enhanced oil recovery, urea yield boosting, enhanced geothermal systems, polymer processing, algae production, mineralization, concrete curing, liquid fuels.

3. Projected timeline to commercialization. Carbon sequestration would begin right away, but other tech can be developed in a not too distant time frame.

Challenges: federal/ state government regulations, scalability, real leadership for the future of the country, partnerships, compelling business case.

Scale – Americans create 5 metric tons/yr which equals the growth of  2.4 mature trees. You’d need to start talking about reforesting the US 7 times over to offset the world’s yearly carbon creation.

Need to create a modern economy that is post-industrial and carbon limited. There’s no such thing as Clean Carbon, but low carbon exists.

Easier to lobby than to innovate; we need to educate the public.

• Create a standard measurement system for global health based on carbon (think UV)
• Use global sensors to educate the world about where carbon is being generated and where it’s being consumed.
• Create a sense of responsible urgency
• Create a cost basis to look at costs relative to other items in the household budget.
• Allow educated choices and the ability to engage in dialogue.
• Create “State of the Climate” global report in different languages, delivered annually to educate society.
• Health implications, worker productivity.
• Taxing goods upon landing if they don’t pay carbon taxes in other countries.

Partnerships

• New meaning to “international trade”
• work together to develop models, solutions to the benefit of humanity; building turn-key water plants in China.
• Create an IP consortium of participating countries: using Abu Dhabi
• Involving oil companies and moving them toward carbon sequestration. (Reallocate oil subsidies to carbon sequestration)
• Collective community, social networks
• There’s an opportunity for investment in technology adaptation.

What is next? US

• US needs to be involved in order for others to participate
• Perform experiment on state level
  • Tax current carbon-based energy creation; ramp up tax to offset CCS costs
  • New industries will spring up around tax and people will be able to prepare
  • Invent low-carbon, non-carbon energy
  • review align energy incentives and subsidies
  • Drive innovation, not lobbying
  • do fundamental and applied research )Avoid testing on ourselves whenever possible)
  • Design a modeling solution
  • Create cement similar to how mollusks do (using biomimicry)

What is next? China

• China is the place to scale
  • ideal for scaling startups because of the ability for government to regulate policy
  • Keep in mind: India, Brazil
  • We need to scale in both locations to maintain ownership.
• Timing may be right
  • China was a net coal exporter, now an importer
  • Power companies refusing to produce power at a loss
  • People start burning lower-grade fuel
  • CO2 is fundamentally half of greenhouse gases, but CO2 stays there for years, whereas methane, etc, dissipates
  • 100,000 years from now a quarter of CO2 will still be in the atmosphere

Incent Change through x-prize competition, move to new power plants, building code incentives, create a common basis for subsidies, LEED, educate with impact and emotion, create understanding of the true cost of carbon, measure of swiss ecopoints, make it personal, awareness, citizen censors, 10-year rolling rate map of carbon tax, using subsidies to incentivize behavior. world agreement such as WTO, frontline story.

Partnering with BP: oil and gas industry know how to drill.

Industry has decided that this needs to happen asap, but havent yet taken action. Helping them take the next step.

McRae: liabilities once carbon is in the ground, pipeline infrastructure,

Carlson: need to prioritize structures carbon will be pushed into.

Incentivize oil companies to go after carbon, both on a long-term subsidy scale and on a larger x-prize based first responder scale.

Rainforests can carry 17 kg/meter squared of carbon.

Licensing IP into joint ventures with China and allowing China to commercialize it. Present China with research: what do we mutually agree with and how can we work together to make that happen. China National Offshore Oil Company has a mandate to put themselves out of business — get china off coal.

Australia has existing projects and needs financing. We need to all work together and let each country bring their own strengths to the table.