Biofore Magazine 2022

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The construction sector is increasingly using engineered wood such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) which is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

water splitting. Having a way to generate hydrogen from sunlight has huge implications because, in principle, you end up with a fuel, which, when it burns, produces water and zero greenhouse gases. “We have had some very recent exciting results and are submitting a paper on it. We’ve designed a new material based on our quantum modelling, and experiments conducted by other collaborators at US Department of Energy National Laboratories have verified its efficacy – although I can’t say much more than that right now,” she confides. In addition, Carter is working jointly with experimentalists at Houston’s Rice University on nanotechnology, which would displace

extracting carbon out of the ground. It’s important not to demonise those who have made innovations in that space because ultimately, it’s what has enabled our way of life. None of the early innovators could have known the extent to which it would jeopardise the future of our planet until much more recently. Now that we know better, we must do better.” Recycling, reusing and upcycling are likely to become the norm in the future. “We also need to rethink recycling and find new ways to recycle plastics and batteries more effectively, for example,” Carter notes. New materials underway According to the Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, circular economy interventions in four key sectors – food and agriculture, construc tion, textiles and forestry – can halt global biodiversity loss and help the world recover. However, Sitra’s Project Director Kari Herlevi highlights that this will require significant changes in the way we produce, consume and manage products and materials. Rethinking our current approach must include reassessing the types of fuels we use. Hydrogen is often presented as a 'great green fuel' but, as Carter points out, 95% of the hydrogen in use, espe cially when driving, emitted CO 2 when it was produced in the first place. The use of a completely green fuel would be monumental when utilised in industry, storage, transportation and electricity. Carter's current research focuses on the understanding anddesign of materials for sustainable energy. She’s been working for several years with collaborators at Arizona State University on solar energy conversion to produce ‘green’ hydrogen using solar thermochemical

the need to use fossil carbon and could revolutionise the chemical industry by reusing greenhouse gases to form chemicals and fuels. She believes incentives need to be put in place to drive change and inno vation. “I wish people could see that our planet is burning and recognise that we need to step beyond our self- interest and fight climate change,” she adds. Incentives drive innovation Incentivising innovation is at the core

Anousheh Ansari, XPRIZE Foundation.

of what the XPRIZE Foundation does. The non-profit organisa tion designs and hosts large-scale global incentive competitions to crowdsource solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.