Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate Steven Chu has been named to the board of directors of Vancouver's Inventys Thermal Technologies.
Inventys, a clean-technology firm established in 2009, has developed a method of capturing carbon dioxide from coal and natural gas power plants.
By capturing carbon dioxide, power plants are able to lower their carbon emissions. Captured carbon dioxide can be injected underground, a process known as carbon capture and sequestration, or used for enhanced oil recovery, a process of injecting carbon into the ground the remove hard-to-access oil.
Chu is currently a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University in California. Chu won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. He served as energy secretary during U.S. President Barack Obama's first term.
"Carbon capture is a critical technology to move us to a clean energy future and Inventys has developed a practical, compact, and low cost system that allows existing fossil fuel power plants to dramatically lower their carbon emissions," Dr. Chu said, in a statement. "I look forward to serving on their board and helping guide the company forward."
Andre Boulet, chief executive officer of Inventys, said: "Dr. Chu brings an incredibly broad expertise to Inventys — from molecular interactions to the macroeconomics of energy systems, and everything in between. We are thrilled to have him join our board."
