A.J. Simon

Head of Industrial Decarbonization

Carbon Utilization + Hydrogen + Point Source Capture

A.J. Simon leads Carbon Direct’s hybrid and engineered carbon technologies group.

A.J. translates scientific and engineering expertise into actionable strategies for client organizations seeking permanent carbon removal.

Background & Bio

A.J. Simon is a mechanical engineer and energy systems expert, whose passion for efficiency and insatiable curiosity has led to a 20+ year career spanning industry, academia and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Prior to joining Carbon Direct, he managed the Energy Group at Lawrence Livermore National Lab where he led assessments of technologies as diverse as carbon capture and removal, the energy-water nexus, nuclear energy, hydrogen fuel, building energy efficiency, and soldier-portable power.

From 2003 to 2008, he helped to manage a large portfolio of university-led clean energy research at Stanford's Global Climate and Energy Project. From 2001 to 2003, he developed combustion and emissions control technologies for General Electric's diesel and gas turbine product lines.

Education

MS, Mechanical Engineering

Stanford University

BS, Mechanical Engineering

Stanford University

Awards

Oppenheimer Science and Energy Fellow (2018)

Department of Energy

Secretary’s Honor Award (2016)

Department of Energy

Scientific Editor for Science & Technology Review (2013)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Centennial Teaching Assistant (2000)

Stanford University

Amy Stuckert, PhD

Senior Decarbonization Engineer

Direct Air Capture (DAC) + Hydrogen + Point Source Capture

Amy's passion for climate change and actionability has led her to focus her career on this and how she and others can make an immediate direct impact. She received her PhD at the University of Michigan with a focus on hydrogen storage and direct air capture. From there she spent nine years in industrial gas research and development commercializing many technologies from initial concept to full deployment. Her past years have been spent as a technology expert focusing on hydrogen storage/transportation and decarbonized production methods including carbon capture and storage, electrolysis and pyrolysis.

At Carbon Direct Inc. she helps our clients identify decarbonization options using hydrogen and future technologies for them to integrate hydrogen cost effectively into their carbon management plans.

Education

B.S. Chemical Engineering and Chemistry

University of Wyoming

M.S. Chemical Engineering

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Awards

American-Made Energy Storage Innovations Prize

Colin McCormick, PhD

Chief Innovation Officer

Direct Air Capture (DAC) + Carbon Mineralization + Hydrogen

Dr. Colin McCormick provides science and technology expertise across a wide range of engineered carbon removal methods and industrial decarbonization sectors.

He also supports Carbon Direct’s work in remote sensing, life-cycle analysis, and carbon removal policy analysis.

Background & Bio

Dr. Colin McCormick previously served as the Senior Advisor for R&D at the US Department of Energy where he helped oversee the full applied energy research portfolio, and as a Professional Staff Member for the House Science & Technology Committee. Prior to this he conducted research in applied quantum optics and atomic physics at UC Berkeley and NIST. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Science, Technology and International Affairs program, Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Education

PhD, Physics

UC Berkeley

MA, Physics

UC Berkeley

MA, Astrophysics

Cambridge University

BA, English and Physics

Williams College

Awards

Secretary of Energy Achievement Award

Getting to Neutral report (2021)

Publications and Features

blog

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Mar 2, 2021

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Chief Scientist

Direct Air Capture (DAC) + Hydrogen + Biofuel

Dr. Julio Friedmann is Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct.

He works directly with clients, the Science team, and the leadership of Carbon Direct to solve major technical challenges around carbon management and CO2 removal.

Background & Bio

Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist.

Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.

Education

Ph.D. in Geology

University of Southern California

MS, Geology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

BS, Music

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Awards

Greenman award (Lifetime achievement in CCS)

International Energy Agency: IEA

Publications and Features

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Mar 22, 2023

IPCC Report: Carbon Removal is Now Required to Meet Climate Mitigation Targets

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Feb 28, 2023

Ammonia: Today’s Imperative, Tomorrow’s Promise

blog

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Feb 13, 2023

From Direct Air Capture to Concrete: How Heirloom and CarbonCure are Kicking off a New Era for Carbon Mineralization

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Nov 8, 2022

Carbon Direct at COP27

blog

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Sep 15, 2022

Commentary on the economics of direct air carbon capture

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Aug 2, 2022

A New Proto-Protocol for Bio-oil Sequestration

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Apr 5, 2022

On the IPCC AR6 WGIII Report: Why Carbon Removal is an Essential Part of Meeting Climate Goals

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Feb 22, 2022

Dr. Julio Friedmann Testifies Before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Energy Subcommittee

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

media

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Nov 11, 2021

Carbon Direct COP26 Global Forum on Carbon Management Technologies

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Mar 7, 2021

Direct air capture is ready for its close-up

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Nov 18, 2020

The Seven Stages of Net-Zero Commitments

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

blog

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Sep 8, 2020

Offsets, Onsets, and Insets: More is More

Julio Friedmann, PhD

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

Niall Mac Dowell, PhD

Science Advisor

Carbon Mineralization + Hydrogen

Dr. Niall Mac Dowell is a Science Advisor for carbon capture and storage.

Background & Bio

Dr. Mac Dowell is a Professor in Energy Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of both the IChemE and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research is focused on understanding the transition to a low carbon economy. Since receiving his PhD 2010, he has published more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers at the molecular, unit operation, integrated process, and system scales in this context. A full list of publications can be found here and he currently serves on the Advisory Board of Joule.

Dr. Mac Dowell has more than a decade’s experience as a consultant to the public and private sectors. He has worked with a range of private sector energy companies, and has provided evidence to members of the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change and has given advice to DECC/BEIS, the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission, the IEA, the IEAGHG the ETI and the JRC. Dr. Mac Dowell is a member of Total’s Scientific Advisory Board, was also a member of the US National Petroleum Council (NPC) CCUS Roadmap Team. Dr. Mac Dowell has been a member of the technical working group of the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) and from 2015 – 2019 served as the Secretary of the IChemE’s Energy Centre.

Finally, Dr. Mac Dowell was awarded the Qatar Petroleum Prize for his PhD research in 2010 and the IChemE’s Nicklin and Junior Moulton medals for his work on low carbon energy in 2015 and 2021, respectively.

Education

PhD, Chemical Engineering

Imperial College London

BE, Chemical Engineering

University College Dublin

Awards

Qatar Petroleum Prize

Nicklin Medal

IChemE

Junior Moulton Medal

IChemE

Wilfried Maas, PhD

Chief Carbon Technology Strategist

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) + Environmental Science & Policy + Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) + Hydrogen

Dr. Wilfried Maas supports clients with strategic advice and due diligence on their clean energy transition.

Dr. Wilfried Maas leads Carbon Direct's engagements with the EU Carbon Dioxide Removal initiatives and certifications. He also leads the workgroup on carbon markets.

Background & Bio

Dr. Maas brings expertise to inform investment decisions and provide strategic advisory services to clients. He brings experience from his 32-year energy career at Shell and from his Joint Industry Collaborations on CCS and Climate (IEAGHG, OGCI, ZEP, IOGP, TCM). He has developed decarbonization pathways for “Net Zero Carbon” production and products for different industrial supply chains based on CCS, electrification, and (blue or green) hydrogen and biomass.

Prior to that, Dr. Maas coordinated the technical development of the global portfolio of commercial scale CCS demonstration projects and the organizational CCS capability. He also contributed to external collaborations for the new business development of CCS as one of the decarbonization solutions for a climate-constrained future. In other roles, he led consultancy teams that developed corporate-wide GHG and energy management governance at capital projects; and he was a front-end development manager for CCS projects.

Dr. Maas is the Director of the CCS Knowledge Centre. He holds a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam. He is a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP), a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and an IChemE Fellow (FIChemE).

Education

PhD, Physical Organic Chemistry

University of Amsterdam

MSc, Public Administration (Environment)

University of Amsterdam

Publications and Features

blog

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Apr 1, 2022

The Sustainable Carbon Cycles Conference: A Retrospective on the Role of Industrial Carbon Removal Solutions in the EU

Wilfried Maas, PhD

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

Meet our world-class science team

Our Scientists

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

IPCC Report: Carbon Removal is Now Required to Meet Climate Mitigation Targets

Ammonia: Today’s Imperative, Tomorrow’s Promise

From Direct Air Capture to Concrete: How Heirloom and CarbonCure are Kicking off a New Era for Carbon Mineralization

Carbon Direct at COP27

Commentary on the economics of direct air carbon capture

A New Proto-Protocol for Bio-oil Sequestration

On the IPCC AR6 WGIII Report: Why Carbon Removal is an Essential Part of Meeting Climate Goals

Dr. Julio Friedmann Testifies Before the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Energy Subcommittee

Carbon Direct COP26 Global Forum on Carbon Management Technologies

Direct air capture is ready for its close-up

The Seven Stages of Net-Zero Commitments

Offsets, Onsets, and Insets: More is More

The Sustainable Carbon Cycles Conference: A Retrospective on the Role of Industrial Carbon Removal Solutions in the EU