Between January 14 and 16, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) released press statements regarding three separate carbon management initiatives. FECM invests in research, development, demonstration, and deployment projects to reduce emissions from fossil energy production and use and key industrial processes while strengthening U.S. energy and critical minerals security.

According to the first of the three statements, $101 million in federal funding will be awarded to five projects to support the development of carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture, removal, and conversion test centres for cement manufacturing facilities and power plants.

The intention is to establish test centres of various sizes using feedstocks from different industries to improve carbon capture efficacy and performance. FECM says each project will enable economical and environmentally sustainable carbon management.

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Additional federal funding  ̶  up to $100 million, to be provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law  ̶  will advance the pilot scale testing of carbon conversion technologies with high technology readiness levels (TRLs) capable of achieving significant carbon mitigation via biological, catalytic, or mineralization pathways.

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) also supports testing of carbon conversion product performance and characterization needed for market or consumer adoption. This may include life cycle analysis (LCA) development for novel carbon conversion technologies and LCA development for pilot facilities using these technologies.

Other topic areas for research include pilot-scale biological conversion, pilot-scale catalytic conversion, and pilot-scale mineralisation  ̶  the latter to produce synthetic aggregates, alternative binders, or injection, curing, and carbonation processes. R&D will support pilot-scale operations at a scale of 10 tonnes/day.

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Finally, the U.S. Department of Energy has allocated $13.7 million in federal funding for four projects that will advance large-scale conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions into environmentally responsible and economically valuable products such as crucial fuels and building materials.

The selected projects will support two areas of focus: engineering-scale testing of electrochemical systems for converting carbon dioxide emissions into value-added products, such as engineering polymer/resin precursors, specialty chemicals, and commodity chemicals; and feasibility studies that examine retrofitting refineries and petrochemical facilities for carbon conversion.

DOE says these projects support the goals of its Clean Fuels and Products Energy Earthshot, which aims to meet projected 2050 net-zero emissions demands for 100% of aviation fuel; 50% of maritime, rail, and off-road fuel; and 50% of carbon-based chemicals by using sustainable carbon resources.

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