Former U.S. Department of Energy Official Joins CO2 Sciences Board
Dr. Williams will be a key voice and adviser in the organization’s mission throughout the world
This week, CO2 Sciences announced the addition of Dr. Ellen Williams, formerly of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA-E), to its Board of Directors. As Director of ARPA-E, Dr. Williams led the advancement and funding of breakthrough energy technologies. Before joining DOE, Dr. Williams was the Chief Scientist for BP where she was responsible for research and program development.
“We are excited and honored to welcome Dr. Williams to this effort,” said Dr. Issam Dairanieh, CEO of CO2 Sciences. “Her leadership experience in both the public and private energy R&D sectors will be an invaluable asset as we set out to invest in these critical technologies.” Dr. Williams is equally active in academia, serving as a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland since 1991, where she also founded the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.
As a member of the Board of Directors, Dr. Williams will be a key voice and adviser in identifying promising energy technologies to scale and partnerships to develop to further the organization’s mission throughout the world.
“Accelerating the one trillion-dollar market for CO2 products requires innovative leadership and collaboration,” said Bernard David, Chairman of CO2 Sciences. “Dr. Williams is uniquely positioned to lend her expertise and engage with many stakeholders in this arena.”
“After spending the past few years focused on energy innovation at the Department of Energy, I can’t think of a better next step than to join CO2 Sciences’ important mission to develop the technical opportunities for a commercial CO2 product market,” said Dr. Williams. “Developing innovative approaches that can be economically competitive will allow market forces to support the positive effects carbon reuse will have on the environment.”
About The Global CO2 Initiative
The Global CO2 Initiative (GCI) was created to develop and commercialize the trillion dollar CO2 products industry. These products use recycled CO2 as a key ingredient; examples include cement, aggregates, chemicals, polymers and carbon fiber. The Initiative coordinates with international partners focused on a common mission to deploy and scale CO2 products across multiple sectors.
CO2 Sciences, the non-profit arm of the GCI, will award R&D funding to qualified research applicants creating innovative technologies. The GCI commercialization arm will work in parallel to accelerate the market for CO2 products by investing in commercial-stage companies.
Source: The Global CO2 Initiative, press release, 2017-04-05.