Wenqin Li profile

Wenqin Li

Energy System and Policy Analyst

ENG / Ced / Computational Engineering

Email

Biography

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. 

Education

  • BS in Vehicle Engineering, China Agricultural University, 2013
  • PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University, 2018

Publications

2023 2 publications

  • 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

2021 1 publication

  • 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.

2020 1 publication

  • 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

2019 2 publications

  • 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.

2018 1 publication

  • 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.

2017 2 publications

  • 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.

Awards

  • 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

Wenqin Li | People