Prof Susana Garcia (HWU, UK) and Prof Berend Smit (EPFL, Switzerland)

“The PrISMa platform: AI-driven solutions to unlock the scalable potential of
sorbent-based DAC”

Abstract:
Direct Air Capture (DAC) is a groundbreaking technology for removing CO₂ directly from the
atmosphere, but its large-scale deployment faces significant challenges, including high energy
demands, cost constraints, and the necessity for efficient sorbent materials. Traditional research
approaches—separating materials discovery, process optimization, and life-cycle assessment—often
produce delayed and suboptimal solutions. The PrISMa (Process-Informed design of tailor-made
Sorbent Materials) platform addresses these hurdles by integrating materials design, process
engineering, techno-economics, and life-cycle assessment into a single, data-driven framework. By
evaluating different case studies across global regions, PrISMa identifies high-performance sorbents
tailored for DAC, optimizes process configurations, and assesses environmental trade-offs to enhance
scalability. This lecture will also explore how AI-driven materials discovery accelerates the
identification of next-generation sorbents, paving the way for cost-effective and energy-efficient DAC
solutions in the transition to a net-zero future.

Bios:

Prof Susana Garcia received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham
(UK) in 2010 and conducted post-doctoral research at one of the Spanish National Laboratories
(Carbon Research Institute INCAR-CSIC) before joining Heriot-Watt University (HWU) in
Edinburgh (UK) as an Assistant Professor in 2014. In 2017, she became the Associate Director in
Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage at the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), an
interdisciplinary world leading engineering centre, inspiring and delivering innovation for the wider
deployment of technologies needed to meet necessary carbon targets. She was appointed to
Associate Professor in 2019 and to Full Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering in 2021. In
2023, Prof Garcia received a Visiting Professor Award to move to École Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and in 2024 she was named Global Head of the Institute of
Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. Prof Garcia’s research
program focuses on advancing materials and separation processes for energy, industrial and
environmental applications.

Professor Berend Smit is Full Professor of Chemical Engineering at the School of Basic Sciences at
EPFL, Switzerland. Berend Smit received an MSc in Chemical Engineering and Physics from the
Technical University in Delft, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Utrecht University. He was a (senior)
Research Physicist at Shell Research from 1988-1997, Professor of Computational Chemistry at the
University of Amsterdam from 1997-2007. In 2004, Berend Smit was elected Director of the
European Center of Atomic and Molecular Computations (CECAM) in Lyon, France. In 2007 he was
appointed Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at U.C. Berkeley and Faculty Chemist at
the Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Since July 2014, he is a full
professor at EPFL. Berend is a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences (KNAW) and the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW).
Berend Smit’s research focuses on the application and development of novel molecular simulation
techniques, with an emphasis on energy-related applications.Together with Daan Frenkel he wrote the
textbook “Understanding Molecular Simulations”, and together with Jeff Reimer, Curt Oldenburg, and
Ian Bourg, the textbook “Introduction to Carbon Capture and Sequestration”.