Gayle Boyd
Cost estimation for building material decarbonization interventions
Funded by the California Air and Resources Board (CARB), this project is identifying different strategies for decarbonizing building materials through the creation of marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) and functionally- equivalent substitution hierarchies (FESH). My role is researching the cost of different decarbonization strategies for the materials. This year I’ve developed a cost estimation methodology that will be implemented across the material types and am now focused on using this methodology to estimate the cost of specific decarbonization strategies, for example switching from a coal-based blast furnace to hydrogen-based direct reduction in the production of steel. These cost estimates will be combined with the lifecycle analyses of the decarbonization strategies to form the MACC curves. The goal of this project is to produce a menu of different decarbonization strategies specific to the California context to reduce the emissions of new building construction in the most cost effective way.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you so much for this opportunity to continue being part of the DeCARB project team. This project combines my personal and academic interests and I could not be more excited to diver deeper into the work I've been doing this year over the summer!