Dr. Phil De Luna

Our image of public servants is rarely that their mandate is “transform life in Canada”. While NRC has long been an outlier in this regard, Phil takes it to another level: A proven research scientist and Carbon XPRIZE finalist who’s published 42 papers, he now leads a 40 person, world-class team on a 7 year, $57 million journey whose mandate is to develop transformative technologies to help Canada achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, They are seeking ways to make renewable fuels and chemicals from air and water via three thrusts: CO2 conversion, H2 production, and AI-accelerated materials discovery. Results to date: over 20 collaborative projects with 15 world leading universities and start-up companies in Canada and abroad – plus 5 patents.