The selections will complement existing DOE initiatives to help develop the technology and infrastructure to implement CO2 storage in different geologic formations.
The projects selected will help reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by developing and deploying near-zero-emission coal technologies.
US energy secretary Steven Chu said that the projects selected are part of this administration’s commitment to leading the world in carbon capture and storage technology, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing clean energy.
Efforts are underway to demonstrate safety and permanence of geologic sequestration through initiatives such as the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships.
The projects will complement ongoing efforts by developing and testing technologies that address critical challenges for geologic storage including injectivity of CO2 into the reservoir, storage capacity, plume migration, and containment by caprock and other trapping mechanisms.
Geologic storage is currently focused on five types of formations, which include depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline formations, unmineable coal seams, oil- and gas-rich organic shales, and basalts.
Carbon storage in depleted oil and gas reservoirs can also increase oil or gas production, while storage of CO2 in deep saline formations holds the promise of enormous worldwide capacity, with estimates of thousands of gigatonnes of storage.
