Month: July 2024

On July 30, 2024, GETCO2 held its inaugural industry workshop in conjunction with the launch of the new research centre at the University of Queensland.

The workshop aimed to engage industry partners early on, to better understand the sustainability, net zero, and decarbonisation challenges they face. Discussions also explored how GETCO2’s scientific and technological innovations could help address these critical challenges.

Chaired by industry expert Simon Smart, the panel featured distinguished speakers including Leeanne Bond, Sarah Ryan, and John McGagh. They provided valuable insights on the sustainability, net zero, and decarbonisation issues impacting Australian industry.

Our researchers, Fengwang Li, Chuan Zhao, Thomas Rufford and Ruth Knibbe presented on the potential of our science and technology innovations to meet these challenges, and GETCO2 Advisory Committee Chairs, Prof Robin Batterham and Dr Anita Hill, outlined the centre’s strategic focus areas going forward.

The GETCO2 Industry workshop discussions provided valuable input to help GETCO2 prepare for early collaborations with government and policymakers, and laid the foundations for working together toward the shared goal of decarbonisation.

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GETCO2) has been officially launched at The University of Queensland, marking a significant milestone in the global effort to combat climate change.

The launch event featured distinguished speakers, including the Honourable Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education, Regional Development, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry; Dr Richard Johnson, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Research Council (ARC), Professor Karen Hussey, Chair of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), and Professor Aidan Byrne, Provost of The University of Queensland.

Centre Director Professor Xiwang Zhang highlighted the transformative potential of electrochemical conversion, stating, “With electrochemical conversion, CO2 is transformed from being the biggest problem of our time to a valuable resource. The ground-breaking science being done at GETCO2 will point to a smart and clean path to net zero emissions by 2050, with Australia leading the way.”

Senator Chisholm emphasized GETCO2’s role in fast-tracking the path to net zero while supporting Australia’s green manufacturing revolution.

“It is centres like GETCO2 that will provide the knowledge, creation of new products, and commercial opportunities necessary for Australia’s future. As the world embarks on the biggest change to how we source, manage, and consume energy since the industrial revolution, GETCO2 will help facilitate a green manufacturing and export revolution while assisting with Australia’s national and international net zero obligations. And with an increase in extreme weather events such as droughts, bushfires, and floods, achieving net zero by 2050 is critical to limiting the dangerous impacts of climate change,” the Senator said.

After the Senator declared GETCO2 officially launched, the Centre invited guests on a tour of the new laboratories in the award-winning Andrew N. Liveris Building, home to UQ’s School of Chemical Engineering.

Professor Sir Anthony K. Cheetham has made enormous contributions to materials chemistry, ranging from the discovery of novel materials to the investigation of their mechanical, electronic, and magnetic properties to pioneering a rich set of structural characterization methods. His 75th birthday this year marks half a century of transformative materials science.

With his commitment to advancing the frontiers of science, Professor Cheetham has led the field of materials chemistry for decades, leaving a lasting mark on both academia and industry. Likewise, Professor Cheetham’s influence extends globally through his extensive network of collaborations, leadership, mentorship, and advisory roles. As a distinguished professor at leading institutions, such as the University of Cambridge; the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), and, most recently, the National University of Singapore (NUS), he has nurtured generations of researchers and fostered a culture of collaboration, innovation, and scientific inquiry. His mentorship has inspired a legion of scientists who continue to push the boundaries of science in their own right.

To honour his work, Prof Bettina V. Lotsch, A/Prof Jingwei Hou, Prof Efrain E. Roriguez and Prof Wei Li have organised a Special Issue in APL Materials.  In the issue they celebrate Professor Cheetham’s defining role in materials chemistry across the globe for more than 50 years. The collection embraces materials chemistry in its entire breadth and depth—in terms of materials classes, characterization techniques, and the close entanglement of experiment and theory.

Read the article, published 17 May 2024, here.

About Professor Sir Anthony Cheetham

Professor Sir Anthony Cheetham is a Research Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore and a member of GETCO2’s Strategic Advisory Committee.  He was formerly the Goldsmiths’ Professor of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge (2007-2017) and the Treasurer and Vice-President of the Royal Society (2012-2017).  He obtained his D.Phil. at Oxford in 1972 and did post-doctoral work in the Materials Physics Division at Harwell. He joined the Chemistry faculty at Oxford in 1974, and then moved to UC Santa Barbara in 1991 to become Professor in the Materials Department. From 1992-2004 Professor Cheetham was the Director of UCSB’s Materials Research Laboratory. In January 2020 he was knighted by the Queen for “Services to Materials Chemistry, UK Science and Global Outreach”, and in 2022 he received the Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Science.