Funding Announced for Carbon Capture and Storage R&D Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the selection of 22 research and development projects on carbon capture and storage (CCS) for industrial sources. Funded with more than $575 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, these “clean coal” R&D projects follow on earlier industrial demonstration projects also funded through the Recovery Act.

Some $312 million — more than half of the $575 million allocated — will expand to large scale three advanced projects to accelerate the development of industrial carbon capture and storage technologies. The Department says these projects will further develop and test industrial facilities with near-zero emissions by reducing the cost and improving the efficiency of capturing CO2.  If successful, these advanced technologies will be ready for scale-up to commercial size.

Another $123 million will go to four projects that will develop turbo-machinery and engines to help improve carbon capture and storage when applied to industrial processes.  The projects will integrate with carbon capture in industrial-based systems to optimize CCS.

Some $90 million will fund five projects to develop advanced technologies for carbon dioxide capture from industrial systems and power plants.  These projects will advance state-of-the-art CO2 capture technologies with increased efficiencies and decreased costs that can be applied as part of an integrated carbon capture and storage system.

Another $50 million goes to 10 projects previously selected under Recovery Act funding, which will be expanded to increase the scientific understanding and locations of geologic formations for safe and permanent carbon dioxide storage from industrial sources. These projects will collect data to determine the potential to store large volumes of CO2 in geologic formations, provide support to augment the National Carbon Sequestration database through support of state geologic surveys and other research institutions, and participate in technical working groups on best practices for site characterization and approving storage site selection.

Related: Energy Department Helps Fund Six CO2 Capture Pilot Projects

Photo: Sierra Club/Flickr