US DOE announces $1.2 million to accelerate US carbon dioxide removal industry

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Twenty-four semifinalists selected for the historic DOE Carbon Dioxide Removal Procurement Award will create an equitable and sustainable framework for scalable carbon management and help develop a carbon dioxide procurement market to spur technological innovation

WASHINGTON, DC – As part of President Biden's Investing in America agendathe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced that 24 semifinalists will receive a total of $1.2 million to scale up their carbon dioxide removal technologies. Funded by the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Purchase pilot price for carbon dioxide removal allows companies to compete for the opportunity to deliver carbon dioxide removal credits directly to DOE. Carbon Removal Credits can be purchased by any individual or entity interested in responsibly managing their past and/or future carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This program will help catalyze the development of carbon dioxide removal markets, demonstrates rigorous monitoring, measurement, reporting and verification practices through third-party scientific validation, and provides a model for employment and community benefits for high-quality credits.

“The Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Prize is a unique initiative to catalyze the market for high-value carbon removal credits to help launch a critical decarbonization tool,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Through this award and the government's new policy statement and principles on voluntary carbon markets, we are giving the private sector the tools they need to make a real contribution to our fight against the climate crisis and deliver real benefits to communities in the whole country.”

Semi-finalists of the Carbon Dioxide Removal Pilot Award

The Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize provides a total of up to $35 million in cash rewards in the form of Carbon Dioxide Removal Credit Purchase Agreements from DOE. The twenty-four semifinalists will each receive $50,000 to help scale a diversity of carbon dioxide removal approaches through four pathways:

• Direct air capture with storagee: nine projects focus on processes or technologies that extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere for permanent storage underground or in long-lived products;
• Biomass with carbon removal and storage: seven projects use plants and algae to extract CO2 from the atmosphere for permanent storage underground or in long-lived products;
• Improved weathering and mineralization of rocks: five projects remove CO2 by reacting with alkaline materials such as calcium- or magnesium-rich crushed stone; And
• Planned or managed carbon sinks: three projects focus on natural and artificial approaches in terrestrial and higher hydrosphere environments with demonstrable sustainable storage consistent with secure geological storage or equivalent.

Learn more about the semi-finalists and their winning Phase 1 programs here.

The semifinalists were selected by a team of technical experts from DOE and National Laboratories after a detailed review of technical, business and community benefit plan proposals for projects that included input and feedback from local communities. The semi-finalists will now compete in Phase 2 of the award, where they will establish a carbon dioxide removal procurement contract, including measurement, reporting and verification standards and commercial off-take terms. Up to 10 semifinalist teams will be chosen as grand prize winners, with each team receiving a Carbon Dioxide Removal Credit Purchase Agreement of up to $3 million for the sale of their credits to DOE.

DOE's broader carbon dioxide removal initiatives

This announcement marks a step forward for the Carbon negative shot, DOE's cross-cutting effort to advance high-quality, affordable carbon dioxide removal at scale. The Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize complements DOE's suite of carbon dioxide removal programs that encourage technological innovation and responsible deployment. Importantly, the award structure partners with growing private sector demand for carbon dioxide removal credits by asking semifinalists to elicit private sector purchases. DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management recently announced its intention to create a Voluntary purchase challenge for carbon dioxide removal to provide resources and recognition to organizations purchasing high-quality carbon dioxide removal credits. DOE's prize purchases would appear in the challenge and be accompanied by purchases made by other organizations that purchase from the prize semifinalists or other high-quality providers of carbon dioxide removal credits. Organizations interested in purchasing from the Prize semi-finalists can contact them directly and learn more about the resources and recognition available through the Challenge.

DOE also funds a wide range of innovation programs to support the commercialization of carbon dioxide removal. A selection of such efforts include:

• Direct air collection hubs
• Carbon negative shot pilots
• Marine carbon dioxide removal pilots and measurement, reporting and verification programs
• National Lab Measurement, Reporting, and Verification Development Efforts
• Co-chair of Mission Innovation's Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad

This broad spectrum of carbon dioxide removal innovation activities will ultimately strengthen the supply of carbon dioxide removal credits for future government and voluntary private sector procurement efforts. These efforts are a critical part of DOE's contribution to the U.S. federal government's broader efforts to support the emergence of high-quality carbon credits.

DOE'S Direct Air Capture Pricing

TheAmerican Made Direct Air Capture Awards, sponsored by FECM and managed by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, supports the advancement of direct air capture technology for decarbonization with a focus on community and labor engagement, creating high-quality jobs, and providing economic and environmental benefits to impacted communities . The prize package consists of four but related competitions (with a focus on both pre-commercial and commercial initiatives) that work together to advance direct air capture and other carbon dioxide removal technologies from ideas to market-ready, scalable and impactful commercialization.

The Commercial Direct Air Capture Prize, including the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize and the upcoming Commercial Direct Air Capture Pilot Prize (expected to launch in FY 2024), expects to provide up to $100 million in prizes and technical assistance for the two programs.

Read more about the Commercial Direct Air Capture Prize at American Made Challenges website.

FECM minimizes the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions in the U.S. economy. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, carbon-managed hydrogen production, methane emissions reduction and production of critical minerals. For more information, visit the FECM website, to register for FECM news announcements and visit theWebsite of the National Laboratory for Energy Technology.

News item from US Department of Energy.