Dr. John Holladay has spent more than fifteen years in catalysis focused on the condensed phase processing of renewable carbon for production of fuels and chemicals. He holds 18 U.S. patents and numerous commercial licenses, including one practiced at the full commercial scale. Currently, he is a manager in the Energy and Environment Directorate for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In this role, he is responsible for shaping the strategic direction of PNNL's transportation portfolio, which includes bioenergy, vehicles, and fuel cell technologies. He is active in leadership of multi-institution consortia, including co-leading the DOE’s Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines cross-cut.
Dr. Holladay is an Associate Director of the Institute for Integrated Catalysis. Within the Institute, Dr. Holladay, along with Dr. Johannes Lercher, is leading a new initiative at PNNL to establish the science base for low temperature catalysis within novel reactor designs that address challenges in distributed carbon energy production. The science emphasis is on improving catalyst activity and catalyst robustness required for carbon-rich waste streams, including electrocatalytic upgrading of complex wet sludges and aqueous oxygenates from industrial waste gasses as well as forest and agriculture residues.
Dr. Holladay received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Brigham Young University and his doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. He is a former PNNL Inventor of the Year and a Distinguished Inventor of Battelle. Dr. Holladay has served as Chief Scientific Officer for the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium, Chief Operations Office for the National Alliance for Biofuels and Bioproducts, and the Chair of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society.