Dr Edda Aradottir is the Chief Executive Officer of Carbfix, an Icelandic company that turns captured CO2 permanently into stone underground through its proprietary technology, and which was featured, opens new tab in The Ethical Corporation’s carbon removals briefing in October 2023. Currently, the company is permanently sequestering carbon at about 10 sites globally and since 2012 has injected about 100,000 tonnes of CO2 into the earth. For Aradottir, the goal is clear: “We are doing this for the climate,” she told The Ethical Corporation. “Our main objective is to get as many tonnes of CO2 in the ground as possible, safely injected and mineralised.”
Prior to taking on her current role, Edda was the Head of Innovation and Strategic Planning at the Department of Research and Innovation at Reykjavik Energy while also being the project manager for the Carbfix project. Carbfix was formed in 2007 as an international collaboration between industry and academia, with Dr Aradottir part of the journey from the beginning. In reflecting upon some of the early challenges during the design phase of the project, Dr Aradottir stressed the importance of collaboration: “It really is true that teamwork makes the dream work because through relentless interdisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers and technicians we were able to overcome all the issues,” she wrote on a LinkedIn post.
Dr Aradottir has extensive experience in the fields of renewable energy, carbon capture and storage and carbon removal. In November 2023, she was named in the first ever Time100 Climate list. In an interview for the list, she highlighted the critical gap in funding scale-ups for ‘first of a kind’ proven technologies in the climate sector. Dr Aradottir also called for governments and political bodies to follow up on their declared climate goals with firmer, more targeted, just, inclusive and transparent actions, including increased funding for climate mitigation and adoption and more efficient regulation.
Currently, Edda serves on the board of Danish geothermal company Innargi. She received a B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Iceland in 2004, a M.Sc. in theoretical chemistry in 2006 from the University of Iceland and a Ph.D. in reservoir engineering in 2011 from the University of Iceland in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
We have seen global pushback on women’s rights and gender equality over the past decade and this is a serious social regression that must be reversed. Climate change further disproportionately affects women and girls globally, and their lives and health are already being impacted severely. It is pivotal to highlight women’s role in climate to empower us and make sure we are included in all discussions and decision making. I am certain that our odds of success in meeting our climate targets will be that much better with a diverse group of decision makers.
Dr Edda Aradottir
source: reuters.com
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