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Chemours Brings a Unique Voice to Global Energy Conference, CERAWeek

CC | March 28, 2024

From hydrogen to energy hungry data centers, chemistry is essential to solving the biggest challenges

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 28, 2024 / Last week, Chemours was on the ground in Houston, Texas for CERAWeek. Held annually, CERAWeek is one of the world's largest energy conferences where industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers converge to discuss the future of energy, exchange ideas, and navigate the strategic and operational challenges ahead.

Throughout the week, our team engaged in a variety of key discussions, forums, and meetings sharing a unique voice and perspective that explained the essential role that Chemours chemistry plays in the energy transition.

As head of Chemours' hydrogen venture, Stefanie Kopchick met with customers, potential new partners, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to discuss ways to drive down the cost of hydrogen and accelerate the transition to clean energy. One highlight from the week was DOE's Hydrogen Deploy Dialogue where Stefanie and Mary Cordes, head of Chemours U.S. Federal Affairs, met with industry and government leaders from across the globe to devise policy strategies to enable the trade of hydrogen and strengthen the hydrogen ecosystem.

"The opportunity to sit across from policy experts and industry representatives to hash out real solutions not only brought Chemours' ideas to the forefront, but it was also a chance to develop meaningful connections to help us achieve our policy and business objectives," Stefanie explained following the event.

Further expanding Chemours' involvement in the hydrogen conversation during the conference, Bill Raiford lent his voice to a panel discussion titled "Supplying the U.S. Hydrogen Hubs: Equipping a Hydrogen Ecosystem." He detailed Chemours' unique place in the hydrogen supply chain as the leading global supplier of ionomers and membranes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis, the only domestic manufacturer, and a project partner in the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) under the U.S. DOE Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub initiative.

Hydrogen was just one topic on people's minds at CERAWeek. Another was AI and the power demand associated with the proliferation of data centers. Brandon Marshall represented our Thermal & Specialized Solutions business at the conference and spent the week engaging in conversations about the role of two-phase immersion cooling in reducing energy and water use at data centers.

Brandon joined a panel titled "What Will Be the Power Demand for AI?" where he stated, "The biggest opportunity that I see for industry that needs to be accelerated is around cooling technologies." He went on to explain, "If you want to look at reducing space, if you want to look at reducing water consumption, all of those factors-in addition to energy- come directly back to what you're now using to cool your data center."

Brandon also delivered a TED-talk-style presentation on two-phase immersion cooling and Opteon™ 2P50, demonstrating its potential to address the growing demand for data.

Meanwhile, Catherine Collison, Principal Energy Engineer, represented Chemours in CERAWeek's Future Energy Leaders program, which included opportunities to network, learn from peers, and share some of the great things happening at Chemours.

"As I work with our sites to reduce our carbon footprint and energy use, it's helpful to build a network with other people in our field to hear their challenges, exchange ideas, and partner for innovative solutions to meet our sustainability goals," Catherine explained.

At a conference attended by more than 8,000 international energy leaders and government officials, Chemours' participation exemplified our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and creating a better world through the power of our chemistry.