The Hard Stuff: University Research on Industrial Decarbonization in an Uncertain Policy Era

Andrés Clarens

Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia; Associate Director, UVA Environmental Institute

Abstract
Industrial decarbonization represents the most technically challenging frontier in the energy transition and the most critical for national security and economic competitiveness. Steel, aluminum, concrete, and chemicals underpin the U.S. economy, yet their transformation requires breakthrough science in materials chemistry, hydrogen reduction, and electrification that can simultaneously reduce community air pollution and preserve good jobs. Drawing on lessons from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and my research, this talk examines why university research on hard-to-abate sectors matters more than ever in an uncertain industrial policy climate. I’ll argue that carbon capture has often distracted from the harder work of fundamental materials innovation and why place-based university research is uniquely positioned to develop the next generation of industrial processes that can both decarbonize and drive economic growth.

Bio
Clarens is a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Virginia and Associate Director of the University’s Environmental Institute. His group studies decarbonization of infrastructure systems. They use systems level analysis of the manufacturing, transportation, and energy sectors to drive decarbonization of heavy industry such as chemicals, concrete, and steel as well as negative emissions technologies. They use bench scale experiments to study the chemistry of CO₂ in aqueous engineered systems for applications ranging from geologic carbon storage and the production of carbon-negative cements. From 2024 to 2025, Clarens was the Assistant Director for Industrial Decarbonization in the Office of Science Technology Policy in the White House. He has been a visiting professor at Utrecht University (Netherlands) and the Technical University of Argentina. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Virginia and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic before earning an M.S.E. and Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of Michigan.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Policy Research in Energy and the Environment.