Supplying carbon needs of society without fossil resources
Lorie Hamelin is one of only 44 researchers who have received funding from the French presidential climate plan “Make our planet great again”. In this framework, she is establishing a carbon management research line within the laboratory TBI - Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, Bio & Chemical Engineering, on the campus of INSA-Toulouse (Federal University of Toulouse), from 2018 to 2023. Through her Cambioscop project, she aims to develop sustainable, tailored and dynamic bioeconomy strategies for French policy makers.
Prior to her research in France, Dr. Hamelin worked as a senior researcher (invited) at the Danish Centre for Circular Bioeconomy (CBIO; 2017-18). She worked as an assistant professor in the Centre for Life cycle Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU; 2014-2016), and has been recruited in the framework of the European ERA Chair Programme to work as a senior scientist on bioeconomy research in Poland (2016 – 2017), prior to moving to France. She further founded her own consulting company in France.
Dr. Hamelin’s research lies at the crossroads of bioeconomy, circular economy & renewable energy systems, in the transition towards a low fossil carbon economy. It endeavors to identify synergies between these areas in an effort to achieve a high degree of system efficiency, minimize environmental impacts as well as the use of fossil carbon. In other words, Dr. Hamelin strives to re-think how we supply food, energy and chemicals to the World, as well as how we manage waste. Life Cycle Assessment, Energy System Analysis and Geographical Information Systems are the key analytical tools she applies and develop in her research. Dr. Hamelin currently serve as an expert in the International Scientific Reference Group of the Swedish Biogas research Centre (2019-2022), co-lead a Sectorial Working Group (SWG) of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) network on circular bioeconomy and is member of the European Energy Research Alliance. In the last 10 years, she has been WP leader on 6 LCA- & bioeconomy-related projects, has been participating in more than 10 European projects related to circular- and bioeconomy, and has been mandated for several advisory tasks (examples include: scientific expert on a working group appointed by the French Prime Minister for a new legislation on public research funding in France, chairman for critical LCA reviews of leading companies, EU IPPCB BREF revision on intensive rearing of poultry and pigs, expert board of EU-LIFE projects).
Examples of recent research include:
(i) decoupling the production of animal feed protein from the use of land through single-cell protein produced microbiologically;
(ii) assessing the role of a novel hydrogen-based biogas upgrading technology for integrating biogas & fluctuating power;
(iii) environmental assessment of major bio-plastics produced in Europe/ inventory of direct and indirect land use changes based on industrial data
(iv) regionalized bioeconomy planning – geo-spatial & dynamic assessment of resources, infrastructure and supply chains to integrate fluctuating power, the mobilization & use of biomass as well as gas & overall energy demand.