Scripps Energy & Materials Center
Roy A. Periana, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
Director of Scripps Energy & Materials Center
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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A New Generation of Chemistry for a Sustainable Planet

Critical human challenges in the 21st Century
 Sustainability
 Climate change
 Energy security

Production of energy and bulk materials consume most of our
natural resources (e.g. petroleum) and produce the bulk of
our emissions

The Scripps Energy & Materials Center (SEMC) at The Scripps
Research Institute is developing new fundamental chemistry
that will lead to revolutionary technologies in fuels, materials,
and energy that will address these challenges
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The Nucleus of the Challenges: The Chemistry of Five Molecules
Carbon Dioxide
Nitrogen
Methane
Water
Oxygen
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Impact of SEMC

Groundbreaking new technologies that utilize a fraction of the raw
materials to generate the power and materials we need

Maintain or improve our standard of living while generating less
emissions

Reducing dependence on diminishing petroleum reserves by
enabling use of natural gas as an economical alternative

Create knowhow that will allow us to generate liquid fuels from
alternative energy sources such as solar, wave, or wind while
minimizing the effect on our forests, croplands, habitats or oceans

Processes to provide fertilizer for 3-4 billion people on this planet
without consuming 1-2% of the world’s total energy
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Our Low Temperature Future
20 - 30% Atom and Energy Efficiency
TODAY
70 - 80 % Atom and Energy Efficiency
TOMORROW
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Clean Energy And Fuels From Natural Gas in the 21st Century
20 - 30% Atom and Energy Efficiency
TODAY
•High Cost •Complex
•Mature
•Petroleum
70 - 80 % Atom and Energy Efficiency
TOMORROW
•Low Cost
•New
•Simple
•Natural Gas
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The Key is Lower Temperature Chemistry
New Paradigm
Lower Temperature Chemistry
for the 21st Century
 Low Cost
 Atom Efficient
 Energy Efficient
Economics
&
Efficiency
High Temperature Chemistry
20th Century Technology
 High Cost
 Atom Inefficient
 Energy Inefficient
Heat & Complexity
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Catalysis Will Enable a Lower Temperature Future
Lower
Higher Energy
Efficiency
Cost
Catalysis
Research
Increase Atom
Efficiency
Alternative Feed
Stocks
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SEMC Progress
Establish Core
Infrastructure
Completed
FY2009
 3 buildings
 350,000 ft2
 40 research faculty
 400 staff members
 Ph.D. program
 Establish lab facilities
Secure Sustainable
Funding
In Progress
FY2011 – 2016
 Raise $100MM
 70 acres for expansion
 Build critical mass
 Establish collaborations
 Begin development of future
lab space
 Demonstrate impact of
chemistry
Foster Critical
Mass
Future
FY2017 and on
 Fully operational
 Fully staffed
 In new lab space
 10-20 faculty
 Spin-offs
 IP
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SEMC Development Model
Funding
Research
Benefits
Industry
Discovery
Secure Future
Federal, State,
& County
Basic Science
Start Ups
Foundations
New
Technologies
IP
Philanthropy
Education
Academic
Alliances
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The Vision of SEMC

The Challenges




The Solution




Sustainability, climate change, and energy security
Avoid inefficient, expensive, and higher temperature chemistry
Focus on the five key molecules to provide greatest impact
Move to lower temperature technologies
Reduce costs, improve efficiency, and reduce emissions
Access to this chemistry will require new generations of catalysts
Moving Forward



Bring together the leaders in each field to create the world’s largest
center directly focusing on solving our materials and energy needs
Utilize modern scientific methods to implement new chemistry at
reduced time and cost
SEMC success will require $100MM investment over the next 5 years
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Home of the Scripps Energy & Materials Center
Scripps Florida
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More Information
Find us on the web…
www.scripps.edu/periana/semc/