Professional Affiliation

Senior Research Scholar, Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University

Expert Bio

Dr. Julio Friedmann is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Global Clean Energy Policy at Columbia University, where he leads a new initiative in carbon management. Recently, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy, where he held responsibility for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. He has also held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Senior Advisor for Energy Innovation and Chief Energy Technologist, is a Distinguished Associate at the Energy Futures Initiative, and serves as a special advisor to the Global CCS Institute.

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 & CO2 recycling), and carbon capture and sequestration. His expertise includes industrial decarbonization, hydrogen production & use, conventional and unconventional oil and gas systems and international clean energy systems (including China, Europe, and the Middle East). Dr. Friedmann also serves as Scientific Advisor of Carbon Direct (a company dedicated to growth and deployment of CO2 removal technology and services) and is CEO of Carbon Wrangler, LLC (a consultancy). He serves on advisory boards for several companies focused on carbon capture, removal, and use.

Dr. Friedmann received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), followed by a Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Southern California.  He worked for five years as a senior research scientist at ExxonMobil, then as a research scientist at the University of Maryland.