DOE to award up to $87M for coal technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award up to $87.3 million in federal funding for research and development of coal technologies and research.
“Coal-fueled power plants are a significant source of electrical power generation in the United States. The goal with these projects is to ensure that the United States can have a fleet of coal-fired power plants that provides stable power generation with operational flexibility, high efficiency, low emissions, and lower costs for consumers,” DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg said. “By investing in this R&D, we will enable the United States to continue maximizing its domestic energy resources while protecting our supply of reliable and affordable electricity.”
The funding will be in five separate categories, including Advancing Steam Turbine Performance for Coal Boilers. This is for projects that seek to improve the performance of steam-based power cycles, resulting in a lower cost of electricity with reduced emissions per megawatt-hour for coal-fueled boilers. Up to $22 million will be awarded.
The second category is Transformational Sensing Systems for Monitoring the Deep Subsurface. This is for projects that seek to reduce uncertainty and enable real-time decision making associated with subsurface carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. Up to $4.8 million will be awarded.
The third category is Crosscutting Research for Coal-Fueled Power Plants. This is for proposals that aim to develop technologies that will enhance the performance and economics of the existing and future coal. Up to $14.5 million will be awarded.
The fourth category is Advanced Materials for High-Efficiency, Flexible and Reliable Coal-Fueled Power Plants. This is for projects that will reduce the cost and enhance the cyclic durability of materials used in advanced ultrasupercritical power plants. Up to $26 million will be awarded.
The final category is Process Scale-Up and Optimization/Efficiency Improvements for Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Critical Materials (CM) Recovery from Coal-Based Resources: This is for projects that will support cooperative agreements to advance the development of technologies for recovery REEs and CMs from domestic coal-based resources through both novel and conventional extraction, separation, and recovery processes. Up to $20 million will be awarded. DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the selected projects.
