In the Mood for Sustainability - from Milan to the GBA: Dr Sergio Sammarchi’s quest for carbon capture solutions
What links carbon capture technology to Wong Kar-wai's cinematic masterpiece In the Mood for Love? For Lingnan University’s Dr Sergio Sammarchi, it may be the commitment to crafting the beauty of the world: just as the film explores beauty in longing, Dr Sammarchi finds hope through the rigour of science.
Dr Sergio Sammarchi, a recipient of the RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme
Dr Sammarchi (middle) at the RGC Award Presentation Ceremony in November 2025
As the climate crisis accelerates, the young researcher and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wu Jieh Yee School of Interdisciplinary Studies is not merely observing the changes, he is actively rewriting the script for a sustainable future. A grateful recipient of the RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme, Dr Sammarchi is initiating a narrative of survival in Hong Kong’s waste-to-energy sector, and charting a path as complex as it is absolutely necessary.
The science of reversal
At the core of Dr Sammarchi’s project, which earned him the RGC award “Optimizing Carbon Capture Solutions for Hong Kong's Waste-to-Energy Sector”, is the problem of capturing, transporting, and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO₂). He captures post-combustion carbon in waste incinerators, a process he describes simply as “We need to find a way to capture the CO₂ that still comes out of the incinerators, even after all the flue gas cleaning processes.”
However, not all CO₂ is created equal, and Dr Sammarchi highlights a critical distinction in the emissions of waste-to-energy plants: CO₂ from burning plastics is essentially fossil fuel in a new form, so capturing it merely stops new carbon from entering the atmosphere. But CO₂ from burning organic matter like food waste and paper offers a unique opportunity: because these materials absorbed atmospheric CO₂ as plants, capturing the emissions creates a negative feedback loop.
“We are actually reducing the CO₂ concentration,” he declares with passionate enthusiasm. “We can reverse the effects of global warming if we can do it on a very large scale.” Unlike trees that eventually die and release their carbon, Dr Sammarchi’s vision is final: storage that is sealed forever.
Translating this theory into Hong Kong's urban landscape presents formidable challenges, and Dr Sammarchi emphasises that solutions must be financially and environmentally holistic. To navigate the trade-offs, he employs the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, a rigorous framework that evaluates the total environmental footprint of the entire capture and storage process, in order to ensure he is not solving one problem while creating another, such as water pollution.
While pilot projects in the Netherlands, the UK, and Japan are inspiring, local adoption is vital. Hong Kong’s specific waste composition, high humidity, and subtropical temperatures can hinder standard technologies.
Therefore, the priority is meticulous computational simulation. Dr Sammarchi argues that we must first use a computational model for these environmental factors to make sure the technology is viable, particularly when adapting it to facilities like the I·PARK 1 in Hong Kong.
Located on an artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau, I·PARK 1 commenced the first phase of its trial operation in December 2025, and is set to process 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, providing electricity for 100,000 households.
Dr Sammarchi views his role as designing a system compatible with such infrastructure. “We need to prove that this option for carbon capture can be adapted to existing incinerators,” he notes, emphasising that retrofitting poses a greater test than designing a new system.
The geography of forever
The requirement to store carbon “forever” introduces the most serious trial for a dense metropolis: space. “Hong Kong doesn't have a lot of land available, as we all know,” he acknowledges.
Yet hope lies in regional collaboration within the Greater Bay Area, and Dr Sammarchi points to pilot projects underway in the Pearl River Basin, where carbon is stored deep beneath the seabed.
Dr Sammarchi believes in the future, and that the captured CO₂ will be transported via pipelines or ships to these offshore storage locations, and is adamant about prioritising geological storage over use.
In the end, we still release this CO₂ if we use it for fuel. We should essentially return it to where it came from as a fossil fuel.
The “Emergency Button”
Dr Sammarchi's motivation is grounded in pragmatism. He recalls his undergraduate years in Milan, where professors believed that renewable energy and electric cars were the main solutions, relegating carbon capture to the last slide - an option if everything else failed. But today, he sees carbon capture not as a substitute for renewables, but as humanity's necessary emergency button.
“What if there are a few countries collaborating, but others continue to emit large amounts of CO₂?” Dr Sammarchi asks. In a fractured geopolitical landscape, carbon capture provides a means to address pollution regardless of its source.
He also addresses the controversy surrounding the technology’s ties to the fossil fuel industry, and while acknowledging that oil and gas companies are major players in developing these systems, he refuses to view them as the enemy. “I think they have a responsibility to help instead,” he insists, adding that their financial resources are vital. Furthermore, he points out that heavy industries like cement and steel production have no current alternative to emitting CO₂. “We cannot just stop them,” he explains. “For these sectors, carbon capture is the only bridge to sustainability.
From the silver screen to opportunities in the GBA
Dr Sammarchi’s journey to Hong Kong combines academic ambition and cultural curiosity. Dissatisfied by the limited resources available in Italian universities, he was attracted by China’s dynamism.
In his work on carbon capture, Dr Sammarchi shows that effective implementation requires the government’s support, in both power and resources, to build the essential infrastructure. “If there is one place where carbon capture needs to be developed and carried out on a larger scale, it would be Chinese Mainland at this time,” he observes.
His interest in China was sparked by his brother's experiences there, and also by the evocative films of Wong Kar-wai.
“I really love his movies - like In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, and The Fallen Angels,” he says. The rich, urban landscapes depicted in the films contrast sharply with his upbringing in a small Italian village of only 2,000 people, and enthral him. “Living in a dense, vibrant city like Hong Kong was something I longed to experience.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree, he moved to Shanghai, where he met his current mentor, Prof Li Jia, now the Associate Professor (Presidential Early Career Scholar) of the WJYSIS, Director of the Lingnan University Shenzhen Research Institute, and a leading expert in carbon capture, and he eventually settled in the Greater Bay Area. Today, he lives in Shenzhen and commutes to Lingnan University, a choice driven by Hong Kong’s high rentals, but one that allows him to make the most of the University’s location.
Dr Sammarchi travels around China.
Dr Sammarchi likes to play American football and basketball.
Quality over quantity
Beyond research, Dr Sammarchi believes sustainability begins with the individual. Small decisions such as opting for public transport can create an important ripple effect. He encourages students to reevaluate their consumption, especially of inexpensive, disposable goods from online platforms.
“Concentrate on the quality of what you buy rather than the quantity,” he advises. Choosing durable items made from recycled materials can significantly cut waste and reduce emissions.
Looking ahead, Dr Sammarchi intends to broaden his scope beyond technical modelling, and has applied for a grant to explore the social acceptance of carbon capture technologies in Hong Kong. He fears that, without transparency, the public may reject the necessary infrastructure due to environmental concerns regarding CO₂ transport.
To preserve the mental clarity required for tackling such intricate issues, Dr Sammarchi draws a strict boundary between work and leisure, although as a sports enthusiast, and trail runner, and basketball and American football player, he believes that physical activity is crucial to mental recovery.
Dr Sammarchi’s favourite book: The Dark Forest from The Three-Body Problem Series
Dr Sammarchi draws inspiration from literature, particularly his favourite book, Liu Cixin’s The Dark Forest from The Three-Body Problem Series. He sees parallels between the plot - humanity facing an existential threat from alien forces - and our ongoing climate crisis. “It illustrates how humanity can unite at times, and fail to do so at others,” he reflects.
In a world teetering on the precipice of climate uncertainty, Dr Sammarchi is doing the heavy lifting - designing a solution to ensure our survival, and create a better world.