By: JP Udo
14 May, 2025
CIFAR’s climate and AI research: A year of impact
May 14, 2025
CIFAR is fueling advances in decarbonization and AI research
Over the past year, CIFAR researchers within the Accelerated Decarbonization program have driven research and innovation aimed at restoring balance to the carbon cycle, addressing one of the most urgent challenges of our time. CIFAR also worked to promote responsible AI research and development.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, researchers in the Accelerated Decarbonization program enable breakthroughs to address climate challenges. Their work includes creating new ways to capture and convert carbon dioxide.
“As researchers in CIFAR’s Accelerated Decarbonization program, we appreciate donor support of initiatives that help expand our capacity to explore promising pathways to capture and store carbon,” remarked the program’s Co-Director, Curtis Berlinguette. “Philanthropic contributions play a meaningful role in enabling innovative approaches — such as converting captured carbon dioxide into building materials like concrete — that may ultimately contribute significantly to addressing climate change.”
In 2024, CIFAR received a $1 million USD grant from Google.org, which was utilized in this work.
The program also uses artificial intelligence to speed up the search for clean energy solutions. With the help of AI and automated lab tools — sometimes called “self-driving labs” — researchers can test new materials much faster than before. They are also developing special catalysts inspired by nature to turn carbon dioxide into useful precursors to compounds like fuels. One exciting area of research is using these technologies to safely lock carbon from the atmosphere into mine waste, helping to reduce pollution from mining and fight climate change at the same time.