The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected three projects to receive approximately US$29.6 million for cost-shared research and development under Phase II of funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001450, Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE): Storage Complex Feasibility. Projects chosen under this FOA will determine the feasibility of commercial-scale storage complexes that can hold 50+ million tonnes of carbon.
According to a statement, the US DOE selected these projects as part of the Carbon Storage Program, which is advancing the development and validation of technologies that enable safe, cost-effective, and permanent geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The projects selected will help to inform the characterization and permitting of a commercial-scale complex with at least one storage site— ultimately demonstrating the potential for safe and secure storage in time for the anticipated deployment of transformative carbon capture technologies in the 2025 time frame.
In 2016, FE awarded approximately US$15.4 million to 13 projects to study the pre-feasibility of storage complexes under the Phase I CarbonSAFE FOA. Approximately US$29 million was awarded from the first closing of this Phase II FOA to three projects that are currently underway.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage these three projects:
- Integrated Midcontinent Stacked Storage Hub – Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio (OH) will demonstrate the feasibility of stacked Paleozoic storage complexes at potential sites in southwest Nebraska and Kansas to safely, permanently, and economically store commercial-scale quantities of CO2. The CO2 storage hub will consist of multiple sources and storage sites by leveraging existing, proven technology for CO2 capture and transport from ethanol sources. Total value: US$13 338 962 of which DOE US$9 637 962
- Wabash CarbonSAFE – Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois (IL) plans to establish the feasibility of developing a commercial-scale geological storage complex at the Quasar Syngas LLC’s Wabash Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant. The CO2 will be produced from the production of ammonia at the repurposed IGCC plant. Total value: US$12 798 334 of which DOE US$10 235 774
- Commercial-Scale Carbon Storage Complex Feasibility Study at Dry Fork Station – University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming (WY) aims to determine the feasibility of establishing a commercial-scale geological storage complex in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin in the immediate vicinity of Basin Electric Power Corporation’s Dry Fork Power Station. Total value: US$12 247 757 of which DOE US$9 777 965
The Office of Fossil Energy funds research and development projects to reduce the risk and cost of advanced fossil energy technologies and further the “sustainable use of the Nation’s fossil resources.”
