Abstract: Modern society is unsustainable, primarily driven by the overwhelming impact of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change. Urbanization exacerbates the issue by the surging demand for infrastructure, consuming fossil fuels and other resources. To address these grand challenges, a surging demand for civil and energy infrastructure to both mitigate and adapt to climate change is inevitable. Renewable energy infrastructure, e.g., wind farms and geothermal wells, is critical in this mission, yet it introduces a paradox--the growing cement demand. Cement production accounts for ~10% of global carbon footprint due to fossil fuel use and feedstock limestone decomposition. Traditional cement decarbonization relies heavily on partial cement replacement with fly ash, a byproduct from coal power plants. An escalating demand for sustainable feedstock in cement manufacturing is anticipated during the energy transition. Conventional cement-based materials are prone to failure under extreme service conditions. These challenges highlight the need for transformative changes in infrastructure systems and materials design--from a carbon emitter to a carbon sink. Disruptive research is essential, focusing on multifaceted approaches to address the global challenges at scale. A key aspect of this transformative research involves designing extremely durable, carbon-negative cement using novel electrochemical and biological approaches. Instead of relying on depleting byproducts from the conventional energy industry, this research proactively designs cement and co-products in energy infrastructure using local bio-geological sources. These innovative manufacturing schemes, coupled with renewable fuels co-production and carbon capture, enable climate change mitigation and adaptation during the energy transition. The performance of cement and cement-like geomaterials under extreme service conditions is paramount to ensuring the long-term structural integrity of sustainable, adaptive, and resilient infrastructure. Advanced synchrotron-based characterization techniques are keys to unveiling the chemo-mechanical mechanisms of these materials and advancing the design of resilient infrastructure for energy harvesting, storage, and carbon storage in subsurface conditions.

Bio: Dr. Jiaqi Li is the Ernest Lawrence Fellow (principal investigator) in the Atmospheric, Earth, & Energy Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He serves as the deputy director of DOE EERC Center for Coupled Chemo-Mechanics of Cementitious Composites for Enhanced Geothermal Systems. In the past three years, Jiaqi has secured $10 million credit in research funding as a PI/co-PI from DOE, DARPA, etc. for the research of carbon-negative cement with carbon capture, geothermal well cement, renewable energy, bio-cement, and biologic self-healing construction materials. He has secured over $1.5 million of cost share from industrial partners. Prior to LLNL for developing an independent research program, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Jiaqi received his PhD and MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a concentration in structural engineering, mechanics, and materials, all from Berkeley. His BS in Civil Engineering is from Beijing University of Technology.