The Net-Zero Center of Excellence aims to bring together research institutes, academia, industry, government, financial institutions, and societal stakeholders from across the globe to drive the development, maturation, adoption, and implementation of net-zero technologies. These technologies will be deployed in a manner that addresses the needs of a society in transition, from drivers such as climate change and energy markets. The center will also leverage the broad expertise of its partners to train the future workforce to support the adoption of new technologies and processes and ensure long-term success.

Center Objectives

Launched in July 2024 by the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Net-Zero Center of Excellence seeks to:

1. Create a research engine built on global collaboration to design and deploy at-scale net-zero solutions tailored to regional, national, and global environments and needs.
2. Conduct multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research for circular bioeconomy approaches to utilizing emissions and developing clean energy-based solutions and systems.
3. Develop and commercialize technologies that benefit stakeholders throughout the ecosystem and value chain.
4. Support workforce development for the transition to net zero through education and entrepreneurship.
5. Drive market transformations by promoting the adoption of net-zero technologies, incentivizing sustainable practices and solutions, and integrating them at industrial scales.

Partner with Us

Forming a partnership network — from local scale to global — is at the core of our mission. Interested in being a partner? Reach out and let us know!