DOE, NETL launch four new initiatives to further carbon removal

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have launched four new programs that seek to establish a carbon dioxide removal industry in the United States.

The programs will help accelerate private-sector investment, spur advancements in monitoring and reporting practices for carbon management technologies and provide grants to state and local governments to procure and use products developed from captured carbon emissions. They will be funded with $3.7 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“No matter how fast we decarbonize the nation’s economy, we must tackle the legacy pollution already in our atmosphere to avoid the worst effects of climate change,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the transformative investments needed to scale up the commercial use of technologies that can remove or capture CO2, which will bring jobs to our regions across the country and deliver a healthier environment for all Americans.”

The four new initiatives include the Direct Air Capture Commercial and Pre-Commercial Prize, which will award $115 million to promote diverse approaches to direct air capture.

Another is the development of Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs, which will invest $3.5 billion to develop four domestic regional direct air capture hubs, each demonstrating a direct air capture technology or suite of technologies at a commercial scale. The goal is to capture at least 1 million metric tons of CO2 annually from the atmosphere and store that CO2 permanently in a geologic formation or through its conversion into products.

The third new initiative is Carbon Utilization Procurement Grants, which will provide grants to states, local governments, and public utilities to support the commercialization of technologies that reduce carbon emissions while procuring and using commercial or industrial products developed from captured carbon emissions.

Finally, there is the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), which seeks to accelerate the commercialization of carbon dioxide removal technologies, including direct air capture, by advancing measurement, reporting, and verification of best practices and capabilities.

These efforts contribute to U.S. responsibilities under the Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad, a coalition of countries committed to leveraging collective resources and best practices to accelerate innovation and cost reductions across a portfolio of carbon dioxide removal technologies.

The Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad members agree to build at least one 1,000+ ton/year carbon dioxide removal project by 2025.

Since January 2021, DOE has invested more than $250 million in 62 research and development projects to advance carbon management approaches, including carbon dioxide removal and utilization projects.