Dr. Julio Friedmann

Dr. Julio Friedmann is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA. He currently serves as Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct. He recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and clean coal deployment. His expertise includes Large-Scale Carbon Management, CO2 removal, hydrogen production and use, CO2 recycling, Oil and Gas production, and international clean energy engagements. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist, where he worked for 15 years. He is also the CEO of Carbon Wrangler, LLC, is an advisor to Carbon Direct, and a Distinguished Associate at the Energy Futures Initiative

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), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration. In addition to close partnerships with many private companies and NGOs, Dr. Friedmann has worked with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Treasury.

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.