Multiple national laboratories, with direction from Argonne experts, join U.S. federal agencies and other partners to advance net zero energy system goals.
Marcy Rood and Hyekyung (Clarisse) Kim of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will help lead a multilaboratory effort to accelerate global energy system decarbonization and worldwide investment in net zero energy systems. Rood, an environmental transportation analyst, will serve as the deputy director and chief operating officer of the Net Zero World Action Center, and Kim, a physicist and principal scientist, will act as its deputy manager for technical programs.
The Net Zero World Action Center furthers the goals of the Net Zero World Initiative launched by U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties on Nov. 3. With the initiative, partnering nations can harness the powerful resources of DOE laboratories, federal agencies, think tanks, businesses and universities to develop clean energy projects that promote net zero, resilient, just and inclusive energy systems. Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ukraine have joined the United States in the initiative.
“The national laboratories have the expertise, facilities and partnerships to accelerate the decarbonization of the global energy system and mitigate the impacts of climate change.” — Paul Kearns, Argonne laboratory director
“Argonne proudly supports Marcy and Clarisse in their leadership roles with the Net Zero World Action Center,” said Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns. “The national laboratories have the expertise, facilities and partnerships to accelerate the decarbonization of the global energy system and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Marcy and Clarisse, through their work with Net Zero World Partners, will contribute to highly tailored, actionable technology road maps and investment strategies that put our net zero emission goals within reach.”
Rood joins an executive leadership team that includes a Deputy Director and Chief Technology Officer from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and an Executive Director from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Together, they will manage a team from multiple DOE labs, including Argonne, NREL, PNNL, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Rood has more than 25 years of experience in the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office’s Technical Integration program and its national Clean Cities Coalition Network, in which she coordinated teams working on a range of clean vehicle technologies and systems. She has an exceptional record of collaborating with international, national, state and local stakeholders to increase U.S. economic, environmental and energy security. Most recently, she was recognized as a Chicago Area Clean Cities Clean Fuels Champion for her long-term commitment to advancing energy security, clean fuel and clean air, one fleet and one consumer at a time.
“Marcy brings substantial clean energy program management, analysis and stakeholder engagement expertise to her role,” said Bruce Hamilton, Argonne’s Net Zero World Lab lead and Global Energy Solutions program lead in the Energy Systems division.
Hamilton, who will coordinate Argonne’s technical expertise for the Net Zero World Action Center as country work programs are formulated, noted that both Rood and Kim were selected from a highly qualified pool of interested applicants.
Kim, working alongside a technical programs team manager from LBNL, will be responsible for coordinating cross-laboratory teams and for planning and implementing support to various countries. Kim brings to the role her systems-level perspective, leadership in interdependent modeling for infrastructure resilience, and understanding of global critical material supply chains and energy technology deployment strategies. She will coordinate with country teams and U.S. government and international programs to ensure effective scoping and implementation of technical work programs.
“As a partner in the Net Zero World Initiative, and through the involvement of Marcy and Clarisse, Argonne has the opportunity to demonstrate its leadership in decarbonization technical assistance,” said Hamilton. “They can ensure our science has continuing societal impact by supporting informed decision making on global transition to net zero emissions.”
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.