According to DOE, selected projects will help engineering studies of carbon capture systems for industrial sources
US DOE announces $131m for CCUS Technologies. (Credit: Pixabay/Quartzla)
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy is providing around $131m in funding for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) research and development (R&D) projects.
CCUS is an alternative option to help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal or gas-fired power plants and other industrial energy sources.
Under the new funding opportunity (FOA), DOE will make up to $46m available for R&D into efforts surrounding both coal-fired and gas-fired flue gas capture and carbon dioxide emissions reduction.
US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said: “Adapting these new carbon capture technologies to make them applicable to industrial sources of emissions is just one of the ways the Trump Administration is using innovation over regulation to reduce emissions while using all of the reliable energy sources at our disposal.
“This week, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we celebrate the advancements made when applying these technologies to new sectors. These advancements mark another milestone for the Department, which has been developing and improving the technology across the CCUS value chain for over 20 years.”
According to DOE, selected projects will help engineering studies of carbon capture systems for industrial sources and testing of advanced carbon capture materials, processes, or a combination of advanced materials and processes for fossil fuel energy plants.
The projects will fall under two areas of interest which include initial engineering design for carbon capture from industrial sources and engineering-scale testing of transformational post-combustion carbon capture technologies.
DOE Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said: “Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage technologies are key to addressing global emissions issues, particularly important in developing nations, by making carbon-intensive production and generation cleaner than we ever thought possible.
“The projects resulting from these two funding opportunities represent an impactful next step that will benefit our Nation, economy, and our global environment for decades to come.”
US DOE had agreed to fund $22m for research on carbon dioxide capturing from air in March
In March, the US DOE had announced a funding of up to $22m for research on capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air.
The funding, which will come from the DOE’s Office of Science (SC) and the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, will be used for undertaking the spectrum from fundamental research in materials and chemical sciences to field testing of prototypes.