United States: $100 Million In Funding For Pilot-Scale Testing Of CO2 Removal Technologies Available From DOE Through Its Carbon Negative Shots Pilot

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $100 million in funding to develop commercially viable carbon dioxide removal technologies through the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management's Carbon Negative Shots Pilot program. This is the first of a series of funding opportunities intended to address the gap between CO₂ removal goals and the anticipated commercial readiness of these technologies and thus focuses on more commercially advanced pilot-scale technologies. DOE's ultimate target is to develop technologies with gigaton-scale deployment potential for less than $100 per net metric ton of CO₂ equivalent by 2032. This program is an important step to helping the US meet its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and for the cleanup of legacy emissions thereafter.

The deadline to submit an application is April 16, 2024.

Under the current program, DOE is soliciting applications in the following 3 areas:

1. Small Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) Pilots:

The objective of this area is to support pilot-scale testing of various pathways for carbon removal from biomass, including pyrolysis, gasification, combustion, conversion, burial, sinking, bioliquid injection, and alternative conversion or storage methods, such as engineered wood products and biofiber entombment. Co-products, such as hydrogen, liquid fuels, and electricity may also be produced through methods eligible for funding in this area.

Biomass feedstocks eligible for this area must minimize ecological impact and be sustainably produced such that they do not interfere with food crops, other land uses, or water resources. Eligible sustainably-sourced feedstocks include, but are not limited to: forestry products (e.g., forestry residues, processing residues (bark, sawdust, offcuts, wood pellets)), agriculture products (e.g., harvesting residues (straws, and corn stalks), processing residues (rice husks, peanut shells, fruit residues, cereal straws), animal waste), municipal waste, black liquor from paper production, microalgae (e.g., grown on land, in ponds, or in oceans), and energy crops (e.g., wood (willow, poplar), grasses). Supply chain availability and sustainability must be demonstrated through a resource assessment.

To qualify as "pilot-scale" for the purposes of this area, the proposed projects must be designed with the capacity to capture and remove at least 1,000 tonne CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)/yr. Applicants for this part of the program will be expected to operate their pilot-scale facility for at least 500 hours of continuous operation. Applications proposing pathways that produce CO₂ must deliver a concentrated stream with 95% or greater CO₂ purity.

2. Small Mineralization Pilots

The objective of this area is to support pilot-scale testing of enhanced mineralization technologies that leverage alkaline materials and accelerated weathering techniques to hasten the rate of CO₂ storage in ex-situ or surficial contexts.

Ex-situ CO₂ storage projects involve the use of materials rich in Ca or Mg, which are extracted from the subsurface, transported, crushed, and reacted with CO₂-rich gas or fluid sources. Heat and/or energy may be used to catalyze these processes. Surficial CO₂ storage projects involve the reaction of ambient or concentrated CO₂ with crushed alkaline rock, alkaline industrial waste, or sedimentary formations rich in reactive rock fragments, which spontaneously react with CO₂ to form carbonate minerals during surficial weathering.

To qualify as "pilot-scale" for the purposes of this area, the proposed projects must be designed with the capacity to capture and remove at least 1,000 tonne CO₂e/yr. Applicants for this part of the program will be expected to operate their pilot-scale facility for at least 1000 hours of continuous operation.

3. Multi-Pathways CDR Testbed Facilities

The objective of this area is to support pilot-scale testing of facilities suitable for evaluating, developing, and integrating multiple carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathways across different ecosystems, climates, and communities. Pilots in this area should demonstrate the capacity to accommodate and enhance several CDR pathways using common infrastructure, assessment, and support.

Applications in this area should relate to entities with exiting CDR testbed facilities that are looking to expand current capabilities to simultaneously test and integrate multiple CDR pathways (i.e., DAC, BiCRS, Enhanced Mineralization and Weathering and/or mCDR). Applicants are expected to provide actual feedstock(s) to test multiple third-party advanced CDR technologies, components, materials, and instruments in parallel with common infrastructure at various scales across different ecosystems and climates.

To qualify as "pilot-scale" for the purposes of this area, the proposed projects must be designed with the capacity to operate at scales ranging from 1-1,000 tonne CO₂e/yr under relevant and variable environmental conditions. Applicants for this part of the program will be expected to operate their pilot-scale facility for at least 1000 hours of continuous operation.

Common Features:

To qualify as "pilot-scale," applications for funding in all of the above areas must have already successfully completed an integrated bench-scale validation with the same feedstock proposed for pilot-scale use. Proposals for laboratory/bench scale technologies will not be considered. All projects must use a test site in the US, and all work to be funded by this award must be completed in the US. DOE cost-share is 80% of project cost. The project performance period where the requisite outcomes must be demonstrated is up to 36 months for all project areas.

Intellectual Property:

The DOE has issued a class patent waiver that applies to this program, such that applicants may elect title to any inventions generated with funding from this program. To avail themselves of this waiver, applicants must agree, among other things, that any products embodying or produced through a subject invention will be substantially manufactured in the US unless the DOE agrees otherwise. If an applicant chooses not to avail themselves of this waiver, the government maintains certain statutory rights in any inventions first created or reduced to practice under this program.

Regardless of the above waiver, the US government retains a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice any inventions first created or reduced to practice under this program, or to have a contractor practice them on their behalf, worldwide. The government also retains march-in rights with respect to any inventions first created or reduced to practice under this program.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.