The US Department of Energy (DOE) is set to invest $41m in 14 projects aimed at developing Renewables-to-Liquids (RtL) technologies. These technologies harness renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to produce sustainable fuels or chemicals that can be transported and stored as conveniently as traditional carbon-intensive liquids like gasoline or oil.
Renewable energy resources are often not situated near the existing US power grid. By facilitating the transportation of sustainable fuels, these projects aim to reduce interconnection barriers while contributing to emission reductions in hard-to-decarbonise industrial sectors.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said: “With today’s announcement, the Department of Energy charges forward on its mission of finding and elevating new technologies to ensure that the US remains innovative and energy independent.
“Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy.”
The selected project teams will focus on developing systems that operate directly at renewable energy production sites. These systems will utilise the site’s electricity, carbon dioxide, and water to create liquids that can serve as renewable fuels or direct replacements for conventional fuels. The clean energy produced can then be utilised across the US for various purposes, including in challenging-to-decarbonise sectors such as transportation.
Currently, low-carbon fuels are costly, averaging around $10 per gallon. By using more affordable electricity sources, such as wind and solar, independent from the grid, producers can achieve lower overall production costs for these fuels.
The US DOE‘s Moonshot Factory, known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), will oversee these projects through its Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage (GREENWELLS) programme. This marks the first instance of ARPA-E supporting RtL approaches to create liquid fuels. The GREENWELLS programme aims to develop systems capable of economically storing at least 50% of incoming intermittent electrical energy in carbon-containing liquids.
Selected Projects for RtL Systems Development:
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia): This project focuses on developing an electrochemical reactor that can rapidly respond to dynamic changes in renewable energy. It will integrate with direct air capture systems to produce syngas for hydrocarbon production. (Award amount: $1,970,200)
- HeatPath Solutions (Lewis Center, Ohio): The team will create a novel method for synthesising methanol that dynamically utilises intermittent renewable electricity. This approach aims to establish a new pathway for on-site production and collection of methanol from modular reactors operating at moderate temperatures and pressures. (Award amount: $4,000,000)
- Susteon (Cary, North Carolina): This project aims to develop a process for producing kerosene-range hydrocarbons using carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and renewable electricity. Susteon’s approach will introduce a new technology platform for the production of aviation fuels and other valuable fuels and chemicals. (Award amount: $4,999,500)
