In The News — EFI Foundation experts are in-demand sources of knowledge on the energy transition for major media outlets.

Infrastructure is the “pacing item” for decarbonization: Former US energy secretary Moniz

In an interview on Channel NewsAsia at ADIPEC 2023, EFI Foundation CEO Ernest Moniz explained some of the challenges and complications of decarbonization. Moniz said carbon capture and storage technology will be necessary to meet climate goals, and the pacing of energy infrastructure in the United States needs to increase. He also said extreme weather will likely be the tipping point to accelerate decarbonization.

Harnessing power of hydrogen critical to state’s energy transition

The EFI Foundation’s Van Romero wrote an opinion piece in the Albuquerque Journal explaining how the expansion of clean hydrogen production with a focus on carbon capture and storage (CCS) in New Mexico can progress the state’s efforts toward a diversified energy economy and create high-quality jobs.

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DOE launches $1B plan to drive demand for clean hydrogen

The article references the finding in the EFI Foundation’s Hydrogen Demand Action Plan that Inflation Reduction Act subsidies and the hydrogen hubs program will be helpful in reducing the price of clean hydrogen but may not sufficiently de-risk the switch to clean hydrogen for many companies. EFI Foundation Senior Vice President of Research Alex Kizer said the largest challenge facing a clean hydrogen industry is the lack of demand.

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Biden commits $1 billion to clean hydrogen customers

This article references EFI’s Hydrogen Demand Action Plan about the cost gap between what industrial users (including refineries and petrochemical plants) pay for hydrogen now and what they would pay for clean hydrogen. EFI Foundation Senior Vice President of Research Alex Kizer said “A demand signal doesn’t exist in the United States right now and that’s what everyone is working through.”

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Thanks to federal tax credits, it’s boom time in the Midwest for carbon dioxide pipelines

The article quotes EFI Foundation Executive Vice President Joseph Hezir saying at our “Taking Root” report release that expanded tax credits provide a “large economic opportunity” to refurbish or build new ethanol facilities with carbon capture in the Midwest and that the economics look promising for ethanol plants to add carbon capture. The article also references a finding from our 2023 report, Turning CCS Projects in Heavy Industry and Power into Blue Chip Financial Investments, about the cost to ethanol producers of sequestration ranging from $36 to $41 per metric ton.

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Responsible mining: Minnesota’s next big contribution

EFI Foundation Distinguished Associate David Foster co-wrote an opinion piece in MinnPost with Former Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie about the importance of responsible mining in the clean energy transition. They explained how the development by Talon Metals of a nickel mine in Tamarack, Minnesota, could be a national model for responsibly mining critical minerals.

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Customers for clean hydrogen remain hazy, even as Biden spends billions

The article references a finding in the Hydrogen Demand Action Plan about the cost gap between what most users pay in the current hydrogen market and what they will pay for clean hydrogen. The Foundation senior vice president Alex Kizer said the switch to clean hydrogen will be difficult because there is no demand from current hydrogen customers.

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Carbon removal features filters, fans — and ivory towers

The article quotes EFI Foundation Principal Joseph Hezir about including academic institutions in the buildout of direct air capture (DAC) hubs. Hezir said the evolving DAC field is a landscape that universities can play an active role in innovation.

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Tech Billionaires Bet on Fusion as Holy Grail for Business

Nuclear fusion is receiving major investments from tech founders. “There’s a reasonable probability at least one, maybe two companies will demonstrate fusion conditions in this decade,” said Ernest Moniz, EFI Foundation CEO. Moniz said the improvements in large-scale machine learning helped achieve conditions for fusion reactions.

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“We’re Facing Many Nuclear Weapons Challenges”: Fmr Secretary Moniz

The EFI Foundation President and CEO Ernest Moniz underscored the need for the United States to prioritize energy security amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions with China and Iran, and global supply chain shocks. He said that if oil prices dropped, we should add more oil to the strategic petroleum reserve to help us deal with future crises. 

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