Professor
Office: CHEM A333
Email: cberling@chem.ubc.ca
Website: groups.chem.ubc.ca/cberling
Research Summary
Reactive CO2 Capture, Advanced Nuclear Fusion, Flexible Automation, Membrane Reactors, Electric Cement
Education
Harvard University, 2006, Postdoctoral Associate
Texas A&M University, 2004, Ph.D.
University of Alberta, 2000, B.Sc.
Research interests + projects
The Berlinguette Group designs and builds advanced electrochemical reactors to power the planet.
Reactive carbon capture
Our program pioneered electrochemical reactors that convert CO2 capture solutions directly into fuels and chemicals. This work is being commercialized through Sora Fuel, and we continue to develop AI-driven methods to advance this technology.
Electrification of the chemical industry
We are decarbonizing industrial hydrogenation reactions, which account for 4% of global CO2 emissions. To achieve this goal, our team is advancing a membrane reactor “Thor” to drive hydrogenation reactions at high rates of production. These membrane reactors can decarbonize the production of specialty chemicals, fuels, biofuels, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.
Decarbonizing the built environment
Cement production is the largest emitter of CO2, and the global footprint will double by 2050. We are designing and building reactors that use electricity and water, not high temperatures, to generate cement. We produce 75% less CO2 when making cement and concrete.
CO2 Storage
We are exploring reactors capable of storing >50 gigatons of CO2 each year. We are advancing this field using electricity and abundant minerals to permanently capture and store carbon dioxide as rock. We are offering the world the first scalable and accountable way of permanently storing CO2.
Flexible automation
We built self-driving laboratories, such as Ada, to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies.
Advanced nuclear fusion
We combine electrochemistry with nuclear fusion sciences to drive fusion events at lower temperatures than currently known. Our mission is to create a low-cost energy source that can scale within the span of a human lifetime.
Awards and honours
Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 2021
Distinguished University Scholar Award, 2021
CIFAR Program Co-Director (Accelerated Decarbonization), 2020-2025
CSC Award for Research Excellence in Materials Chemistry, 2020
NSERC E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, 2018
Selected publications + presentations
Kim, Y.; Namdari, M.; Jewlal, A. M.; Chen, Y.; Pimlott, D. J. D.; Stolar, M.; Berlinguette, C. P.* “Economic Viability of Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion.” ACS Energy Lett. 2025. 10 (1), 403-409.
Kim, Y.; Lees, E. W.; Donde, C.; Jewlal, A. M. L.; Waizenegger, C. E. B.; de Hepcée, B. M. W.; Simpson, G. L.; Valji, A.; Berlinguette, C. P.* “Integrated CO2 Capture and Conversion to Form Syngas.” Joule 2024. 8 (11), 3106-3125.
Stankovic, M. D.; Sperryn, J. F.; Delima, R. S.; Rupnow, C. C.; Rooney, M. B.; Stolar, M.; Berlinguette, C. P.* “Electrochemical Production of Methyltetrahydrofuran, a Biofuel for Diesel Engines.” Energy Environ. Sci. 2023. 16, 3453-3461.
Zhang, Z.; Mowbray, B. A. W.; Parkyn, C. T. E.; Waizenegger, C. E. B.; Williams, A. S. R.; Lees, E. W.; Ren, S.; Kim, Y.; Jansonius, R. P.; Berlinguette, C. P.* “Cement Clinker Precursor Production in an Electrolyser.” Energy Environ. Sci. 2022. 15, 5129-5136.
MacLeod, B. P.; Parlane, F. G. L.; Brown, A. K.; Hein, J. E.; Berlinguette, C. P. “Flexible Automation Accelerates Materials Discovery.” Nat. Mater. 2022, 21, 722-726.
MacLeod, B. P.; Parlane, F. G. L.; Morrissey, T. D.; Häse, F.; Roch, L.; Dettelbach, K. E.; Moreira, R.; Yunker, L. P. E.; Rooney, M. B.; Deeth, J. R.; Lai, V.; Ng, G. J.; Situ, H.; Zhang, R. H.; Elliott, M. S.; Haley, T. H.; Dvorak, D. J.; Aspuru-Guzik, A.; Hein, J. E.; Berlinguette, C. P. “Self-Driving Laboratory for Accelerated Discovery of Thin-Film Materials.” Sci. Adv. 2020, 6 (20), eaaz8867.
Ren, S.; Joulié, D.; Salvatore, D. A.; Torbensen, K.; Wang, M.; Robert, M., Berlinguette, C. P.* “Molecular Electrocatalysts can Mediate Fast, Selective CO2 Reduction in a Flow Cell.” Science 2019, 365 (6451), 367-369.
Berlinguette, C. P.; Chiang, Y.-M.; Munday, J. N.; Schenkel, T.; Fork, D. K.; Koningstein, R.; Trevithick, M. D. “Revisiting the Cold Case of Cold Fusion.” Nature 2019, 570, 45-51.