Department of Energy Grant for CO2 Utilization

The Carbon Sequestration Program involves three key elements for technology development: Core R&D, Infrastructure and Global Collaborations. Core R&D is driven by industry’s technology needs and segregates those needs into focus areas to more efficiently obtain solutions that can then be tested and deployed in the field. The CO2 Utilization focus area addresses the pathways and novel approaches for reducing CO2 emissions by developing beneficial uses for captured CO2, such as the conversion of CO2 to useable products and other breakthrough concepts that will mitigate CO2 emissions in areas where geologic storage may not be an optimal solution.

Large volumes of CO2 will be available as fossil fuel-based power plants and other CO2 emitting industries are equipped with CO2 emissions control technologies necessary to comply with Federal and/or state regulatory requirements to address global climate change. While efforts are underway to implement permanent storage of captured CO2 through geologic sequestration, there is also an opportunity to utilize CO2 as an inexpensive raw material and convert it to a beneficial use. Because of the large quantity of CO2 potentially available, processes with the potential to use significant amounts of CO2 are needed. DOE’s goal is to develop this carbon sequestration pathway as a significant part of the overall strategy for reducing carbon emissions. The details of the program objectives, projects, and status can be found through NETL website at:
http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/index.html

The selected projects will support three of DOE’s Strategic Goals:
Energy Security – Technologies and approaches developed for beneficial use of CO2 will offer opportunities to mitigate Green House Gas emissions while developing an industry that could convert the CO2 to either a fuel or other useable products, reducing the dependence on foreign sources of oil and prolonging the domestic supplies in the United States.
Scientific Discovery and Innovation – These projects will seek to develop technologies that enhance our understanding of the chemical and physical processes of conversion of CO2 to useable products and absorption of CO2 through indirect sinks.
Environmental Responsibility – The projects will facilitate opportunities to utilize or mitigate CO2 emissions from the fossil fuel based electricity industry as well as other industrial sources that emit CO2.

Area of Interest: CO2 Conversion to Commodities
Carbon dioxide is already a commodity chemical that is used in many commercial applications. However, the current commercial utilization of CO2 is small compared to total CO2 emissions, and is often emitted to the atmosphere after use. Research has shown that CO2 can be converted to a variety of commodities but because of the low energy state of CO2, the production costs would be prohibitive in many cases. Research in this area is intended to develop or improve methods for producing commodities with CO2 as a feedstock. Applications are sought for bench- or lab-scale R&D projects that advance the chemical and physical processes of this technology area by expanding research or by investigating innovative technologies with the potential to meet the DOE net cost metric.

It should be noted that the use of algae is not of interest for this FOA and applications that propose the use of algae will be declined. It should also be noted that CO2 mineralization based on methods to enhance natural weathering processes is not of interest for this FOA and this type of application will be declined unless an economically useful product is the result.

All projects selected from this FOA are expected to have no significant environmental impacts due to both the scale and type of the research activities requested. Applications which propose activities that would require construction or significant field work will be declined.

The Carbon Sequestration Program involves three key elements for technology development: Core R&D, Infrastructure and Global Collaborations. Core R&D is driven by industry’s technology needs and segregates those needs into focus areas to more efficiently obtain solutions that can then be tested and deployed in the field. The CO2 Utilization focus area addresses the pathways and novel approaches for reducing CO2 emissions by developing beneficial uses for captured CO2, such as the conversion of CO2 to useable products and other breakthrough concepts that will mitigate CO2 emissions in areas where geologic storage may not be an optimal solution.

Large volumes of CO2 will be available as fossil fuel-based power plants and other CO2 emitting industries are equipped with CO2 emissions control technologies necessary to comply with Federal and/or state regulatory requirements to address global climate change. While efforts are underway to implement permanent storage of captured CO2 through geologic sequestration, there is also an opportunity to utilize CO2 as an inexpensive raw material and convert it to a beneficial use. Because of the large quantity of CO2 potentially available, processes with the potential to use significant amounts of CO2 are needed. DOE’s goal is to develop this carbon sequestration pathway as a significant part of the overall strategy for reducing carbon emissions. The details of the program objectives, projects, and status can be found through NETL website at:
http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/index.html

The selected projects will support three of DOE’s Strategic Goals:
Energy Security – Technologies and approaches developed for beneficial use of CO2 will offer opportunities to mitigate Green House Gas emissions while developing an industry that could convert the CO2 to either a fuel or other useable products, reducing the dependence on foreign sources of oil and prolonging the domestic supplies in the United States.
Scientific Discovery and Innovation – These projects will seek to develop technologies that enhance our understanding of the chemical and physical processes of conversion of CO2 to useable products and absorption of CO2 through indirect sinks.
Environmental Responsibility – The projects will facilitate opportunities to utilize or mitigate CO2 emissions from the fossil fuel based electricity industry as well as other industrial sources that emit CO2.

Area of Interest: CO2 Conversion to Commodities
Carbon dioxide is already a commodity chemical that is used in many commercial applications. However, the current commercial utilization of CO2 is small compared to total CO2 emissions, and is often emitted to the atmosphere after use. Research has shown that CO2 can be converted to a variety of commodities but because of the low energy state of CO2, the production costs would be prohibitive in many cases. Research in this area is intended to develop or improve methods for producing commodities with CO2 as a feedstock. Applications are sought for bench- or lab-scale R&D projects that advance the chemical and physical processes of this technology area by expanding research or by investigating innovative technologies with the potential to meet the DOE net cost metric.

It should be noted that the use of algae is not of interest for this FOA and applications that propose the use of algae will be declined. It should also be noted that CO2 mineralization based on methods to enhance natural weathering processes is not of interest for this FOA and this type of application will be declined unless an economically useful product is the result.

All projects selected from this FOA are expected to have no significant environmental impacts due to both the scale and type of the research activities requested. Applications which propose activities that would require construction or significant field work will be declined.