I am a systems analysis engineer specializing in improving system efficiency and evaluating the economic and environmental feasibility of technologies critical to the global energy transition and climate change. With expertise in techno-economic analysis, life cycle assessment, and integrated process modeling, I lead interdisciplinary efforts to help translate early-stage innovations into scalable, real-world solutions. I have led multiple DOE-funded projects (Link) assessing biomass conversion, carbon capture, and CO₂ utilization technologies, shaping their deployment strategies and long-term viability. I am a co-author of LLNL’s landmark reports, Getting to Neutral (Link) and Roads to Removal (Link), which outline California’s and the nation’s pathways to net-zero emissions through carbon removal. My work bridges the gap between research, policy, investment decision-making, and market adoption, advancing systems-based approaches that guide technology scale-up and deployment. 

BS in Vehicle Engineering, China Agricultural University, 2013

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2018

Li, W.; Feaster, J. T.; Akhade, S. A.; Davis, J. T.; Wong, A. A.; Beck, V. A.; Varley, J. B.; Hawks, S. A.; Stadermann, M.; Hahn, C.; Aines, R. D.; Duoss, E. B.; Baker, S. E. Comparative Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Analysis of Water Oxidation and Hydrogen Oxidation at the Anode in a CO2 Electrolysis to Ethylene System. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2021, 9 (44), 14678–14689. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c01846.

 

Moore, T.; Oyarzun, D. I.; Li, W.; Lin, T. Y.; Goldman, M.; Wong, A. A.; Jaffer, S. A.; Sarkar, A.; Baker, S. E.; Duoss, E. B.; Hahn, C. Electrolyzer Energy Dominates Separation Costs in State-of-the-Art CO2 Electrolyzers: Implications for Single-Pass CO2 Utilization. Joule 2023, 7 (4), 782–796. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.03.015.

 

Pett-Ridge, J.; Kuebbing, S.; Mayer, A. C.; Hovorka, S.; Pilorgé, H.; Baker, S. E.; Pang, S. H.; Scown, C. D.; Mayfield, K. K.; Wong, A. A.; Aines, R. D.; Ammar, H. Z.; Aui, A.; Ashton, M.; Basso, B.; Bradford, M.; Bump, A. P.; Busch, I.; Calzado, E. R.; Chirigotis, J. W.; Clauser, N.; Crotty, S.; Dahl, N.; Dai, T.; Ducey, M.; Dumortier, J.; Ellebracht, N. C.; Egui, R. G.; Fowler, A.; Georgiou, K.; Giannopoulos, D.; Goldstein, H. M.; Harris, T.; Hayes, D.; Hellwinckel, C.; Ho, A.; Hong, M.; Hunter-Sellars, E.; Kirkendall, W.; Langholtz, M.; Layer, M.; Lee, I.; Lewis, R.; Li, W.; Liu, W.; Lozano, J. T.; Lunstrum, A.; McNeil, W.; Nico, P.; O’Rourke, A.; Paustian, K.; Peridas, G.; Pisciotta, M.; Price, L.; Psarras, P.; Robertson, G. P.; Sagues, W. J.; Sanchez, D. L.; Schmidt, B. M.; Slessarev, E. W.; Sokol, N.; Stanley, A. J.; Swan, A.; Toureene, C.; Wright, M. M.; Yao, Y.; Zhang, B.; Zhang, Y. Roads to Removal: Options for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States; LLNL-TR-852901; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States), 2023. https://doi.org/10.2172/2301853

 

Baker, S. B.; Stolaroff, J. K.; Peridas, G.; Pang, S. H.; Goldstein, H. M.; Lucci, F. R.; Li, W.; Slessarev, E. W.; Pett-Ridge, J.; Ryerson, F. J.; Wagoner, J. L.; Kirkendall, W.; Aines, R. D.; Sanchez, D. L.; Cabiyo, B.; Baker, J.; McCoy, S. T.; Uden, S.; Runnebaum, R.; Wilcox, J.; Psarras, P. C.; Pilorgé, H.; McQueen, N.; Maynard, D.; McCormick, C. Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California. 2020. LLNL-TR-796100

 

Li, W., Dumortier, J., Dokoohaki, H., Miguez, F. E., Brown, R. C., Laird, D., Wright, M. M. Regional techno‐economic and life‐cycle analysis of the pyrolysis‐bioenergy‐biochar platform for carbon‐negative energy. Biofuels, Bioprod Biorefining. (2019). DOI:10.1002/bbb.2043.

 

Li, W., Wright MM. Negative Emission Energy Production Technologies: A Techno‐Economic and Life Cycle Analyses Review. Energy Technol. (2019) DOI:10.1002/ente.201900871.

 

Li, W., Ghosh, A., Bbosa, D., Brown, R. & Wright, M. M. Comparative Techno-economic, Uncertainty and Life Cycle Analysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass Solvent Liquefaction and Sugar Fermentation to Ethanol. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. (2018).DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b03622.

 

Li, W., Dang, Q., Brown, R. C., Laird, D., & Wright, M. M. The impacts of biomass properties on the pyrolysis yields, economic and environmental performance of the pyrolysis-bioenergy-biochar platform to carbon negative energy. Bioresour. Technol. (2017). DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.049 (Front Cover Paper).

 

Li, W., Dang, Q., Smith, R., Brown, R. C. & Wright, M. M. Techno-economic analysis of the stabilization of bio-oil fractions for insertion into petroleum refineries. ACS Sustain.Chem. Eng. (2017). DOI:10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b02222.

 

Director’s Gold Award, Global Security, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 2024 

Director’s Excellence in Publication Award, 2024                   

Secretary of Energy Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Energy, 2021 

Director’s Science and Technology Award, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 2020