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Regional carbon capture research projects gain $20M from DOE
Regional carbon capture research projects gain $20M from DOE
(photo courtesy Southern Company/National Carbon Capture Center)

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide $20 million in funding to help several carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects get off the ground—or in the ground.

DOE announced financing for the quartet of regional CCUS deployments last week. Some estimates indicate that CCUS could reduce CO2 emissions from industrial resources significantly and contribute to the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The carbon capture projects awarded by DOE include work based out of Ohio, New Mexico, Georgia and North Dakota. Each project was awarded approximately $5 million.

“Every pocket of the country can and will benefit from the clean energy transition, and that includes our expanded use of carbon capture and storage technology to remove carbon pollution from fossil fuel use,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Through DOE’s Regional Initiatives projects, we are making sure states—especially those with historic ties to fossil fuel industries—can access technology innovations to abate carbon pollution and enhance their local economies so that no worker or workforce is left behind.”

The Regional Initiatives are university-led partnerships with academia, non-governmental organizations, industry leaders, and local and state governments. The initiatives identify and promote carbon storage and transport projects by addressing key technical challenges; facilitating data collection, sharing, and analysis; evaluating regional storage and transport infrastructure; and promoting regional technology transfer.

  • Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, OH) is leading the Regional Initiative to Accelerate CCUS Deployment in the Midwestern and Northeastern USA project in 20 Midwestern and Northwestern states to review regional infrastructure and technical challenges to deploying CCUS in three sedimentary basins and the Arches province.
  • New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, NM) is leading the Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership of the Western United States project in 15 Western states to focus on compiling geologic datasets in the region for storage resource analyses and identifying data gaps.
  • Southern States Energy Board (Peachtree Corners, GA) is leading the Southeast Regional Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership project in 15 Southeast states to identify at least 50 potential regional sites to evaluate storage resource potential and infrastructure needs.
  • University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (Grand Forks, ND) is leading the Plains CO2 Reduction project in 13 Northwest states and four Canadian provinces to identify and address onshore regional storage and transport challenges facing the commercial deployment of CCUS in an expanded region.

The U.S. is home to numerous carbon capture projects nationwide already in the research phase. Those include the National Carbon Capture Center (pictured) operated by Southern Co., and the Petra Nova project in Texas.

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Carbon capture will be one of the topics of focus next week in the POWERGEN+ online series. Registration is free and sessions available on demand.

POWERGEN+ session on BTU analysis of hydrogen mix in power generation