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Arun Majumdar: What is the biggest challenge of the 21st-century?

​A mechanical engineering professor and the co-director of the Precourt Institute for Energy says turning CO2 into oil at a cost of $2/gallon would change the energy game.
Arun Majumdar speaking at TEDx Stanford |Courtesy Stanford University
Arun Majumdar speaking at TEDx Stanford |Courtesy Stanford University

According to Arun Majumdar, co-director of Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy and vice chair of the U.S. Secretary of Energy’s advisory board, what could “change the ball game” from our reliance on fossil fuels is to turn CO2 into oil at a cost of $2/gallon. This is extremely challenging. “A lot of people think this is impossible,” says Majumdar, “but it’s not! Carbon-free energy is almost cheap enough to take on this challenge in a meaningful way. And the race is on among scientists and engineers to make this happen!”

Majumdar is the Jay Precourt Professor at Stanford and a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He spoke recently at TedxStanford.

 

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