U.S. Energy Department Announces $101 Million for Carbon Capture, Removal and Conversion Test Centers

The U.S. Energy Department has announced $101 million in funding for five projects to develop test centers for carbon sequestration technologies. Managed by the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, the projects will advance research and innovation for industrial carbon capture, removal, and conversion technologies. The five selections include the University of Illinois, Holcim, Southern Company Services, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Wyoming.

Investing in the research and development of carbon capture, utilization, and storage solutions, or CCUS solutions is crucial to reducing carbon emissions, particularly in the industrial sector which accounts for 20 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. In November of last year, the department released a comprehensive national blueprint to reduce carbon emissions in the industrial sector. The blueprint sets a national target to reduce 50 percent of carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois plans to utilize the funding for the university’s Cement Carbon Capture and Conversion Technology Accelerator test center in Urbana, Illinois. The board will invest in the concept design and organize the managerial and business structures for the test center. The center will study carbon sequestration solutions under industrial operating conditions faced by the cement industry.

Holcim US will develop the Cement Carbon Management Innovation Center at Holcim’s Hagerstown site in Maryland. Once operational, the test center will help to study the performance of different carbon capture and removal technologies under real cement flue gas conditions in the cement industry.

Southern Company Services will use the funding to maintain and operate the National Carbon Capture Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The center will test and evaluate decarbonization technologies under industrial conditions for electric power generation. To date, the center has performed over 155,000 hours of testing and aided in the development of 80 carbon capture and removal technologies.

The University of North Dakota will upgrade its Energy & Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks. The center will focus on reducing the costs of testing novel decarbonization technology for power plant operating conditions. The planned upgrade includes 24-hour testing that can produce coal or natural gas-derived flue gas at a minimum rate of 5,000 pounds per hour.

The University of Wyoming will use the award to expand the range of carbon management solutions that can be tested at its existing Wyoming Integrated Test Center. The center will use real coal-derived flue gas to help researchers study CCUS.