Kim Budil, LLNL named in inaugural Top 100 climate list

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director Kim Budil and the team that achieved fusion in 2022 have been named to The Independent’s inaugural Climate 100 list, which highlights climate activists, innovators, scientists, business leaders, creators, policymakers and entrepreneurs involved in the fight against climate change.

Budil and the Lab are recognized for the December 2022 milestone in achieving ignition for the first time in a laboratory setting. The citation cites that it was under Budil’s leadership “that the team made their historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion.”

The Independent cites, “Fusion energy holds the promise of providing nearly limitless clean energy, and could revolutionise efforts to meet the world’s energy needs sustainably, changing the trajectory of the climate crisis.”

“As a national-security laboratory, LLNL is committed to finding solutions to advance climate and energy security,” said Budil. “I’m proud to lead a talented and innovative workforce who apply cutting-edge science and technology to develop a greener and more secure world for future generations.”

Livermore’s climate research began in 1960 with the development of the world’s first atmospheric general circulation model. In the 1980s, LLNL formed a first-of-its-kind center to diagnose and compare global climate models. Today, LLNL works to advance understanding of the global climate system, develop technologies to reduce accumulation of greenhouse gases and pursue the domestic production and supply of affordable, clean and increasingly carbon-free energy delivered across a secure and sustainable infrastructure.

The 2022 achievement supports U.S. national security and provide invaluable insights into fusion as a reliable, abundant, safe and clean energy source.

In 2023, LLNL and collaborators from 13 institutions completed a first-of-its-kind high-resolution assessment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in the United States. The report, “Roads to Removal: Options for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States,” charts a path for the United States to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas economy by 2050, helping to ensure the nation’s climate security and resilience by cleaning up Earth’s atmosphere and addressing the root cause of climate change.