Technologies for Energy Transition

Speaker: Praveen Kumar, Prairie Research Institute

The Prairie Research Institute (PRI) conducts transformative research that provides innovative, at-scale solutions for a society undergoing climate and energy transitions. PRI unites scientific expertise in geology, ecology and biodiversity, archaeology, hydrology and water, weather and climate, pollution prevention, and sustainable energy. PRI leads applied research in carbon capture and storage, geothermal energy, and biofuels, helping to advance Illinois, and the world, toward a more sustainable future.

This talk will give an overview of the PRI and will provide some examples of case studies around the applied research that the PRI conducts into the safe, effective, and economical capture, use, and storage of CO2 from power plants and industrial operations. Praveen’s talk will also include the innovative ways that PRI scientists investigate to transform waste, such as municipal waste and CO2 captured from power plants, into biofuel and the PRI efforts to leverage Illinois’ favourable groundwater conditions to develop reliable, sustainable, cost-effective geothermal power.