FLC | DOE-Fossil Energy Carbon Capture Program announces $75M in funding

DOE-Fossil Energy Carbon Capture Program announces $75M in funding

May 2, 2021

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has announced $75 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects under Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002515, Carbon Capture R&D for Natural Gas and Industrial Sources and Front-End Engineering Design Studies for Carbon Capture Systems at Industrial Facilities and Natural Gas Plants. FE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the selected projects. Applications are due June 21.

“Research, development, demonstration and deployment of decarbonization technologies in the industrial sector will drive the energy transition needed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while engaging communities and local populations and empowering them in the decision-making process,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox. “And projects under this FOA will help move us closer to that goal.”

The DOE-FE Carbon Capture Program works to identify and advance technologies with the goal of decreasing the cost, improving the efficiency, and promoting strategic demonstration and deployment of carbon capture. This funding is focused on carbon capture and storage for power generation and industrial applications, with a goal of commercial deployment by 2030.

This FOA seeks to fund research and development projects that will focus on:

1. Testing transformational carbon capture materials: equipment, processes, or a combination thereof for applications in natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power generation and industrial manufacturing, capable of achieving higher capture efficiencies (e.g., 95% or greater).

2. Performing front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for industrial manufacturing plants and NGCC power-generation plants integrated with advanced carbon capture systems that separate at least 95% of the total carbon dioxide emissions and generate carbon dioxide suitable for geologic storage, with at least two of these studies supporting projects at industrial facilities.

By developing innovative technologies to decarbonize natural gas and industrial facilities and by supporting their commercial deployment, this FOA will support the U.S. in achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero carbon pollution economy by 2050.

Notably, this FOA, for the first time, will require applicants to submit a comprehensive summary of both environmental justice implications and jobs impacts. The jobs analysis focuses on the creation of jobs located in power plants and industrial communities that are economically distressed and/or have been disproportionately harmed by the adverse environmental impacts of these industries. Applicants will be asked to discuss not only the nature of the jobs, but also recruitment strategies for underrepresented groups and workers from the local community.

The environmental justice questions that applicants are asked to consider are wide-ranging, including the technology’s potential for remediating legacy environmental impacts of the energy industry, the project’s waste management strategy, potential co-benefits for air pollutants, and community involvement plans.

Selected projects will fall under three areas of interest (AOIs):

AOI-1: Carbon Capture R&D: Bench-Scale Testing of Highly Efficient Components and Processes for NGCC Plants.

AOI-2: Engineering-Scale Testing of Transformational Post-Combustion CO2 Capture Technologies for Industrial Carbon Capture.

AOI-3: Front-End Engineering Design Studies for Carbon Capture Systems