[USA] DOE announces $1.2 billion for DAC demonstrations in Texas and Louisiana

On August 11, 2023, the Department of Energy announced up to $1.2 billion to advance the development of two commercial-scale direct air capture (DAC) facilities in Texas and Louisiana.[1] The projects are the first facilities of this scale in the U.S. and are the first selections for the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program, which was funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and aims to jumpstart a nationwide network of large-scale carbon removal sites. The recipients included Project Cypress of Louisiana and South Texas DAC Hub. Battelle runs Project Cypress in coordination with Climeworks Corporation and Heirloom Carbon Technologies, Inc. South Texas DAC was created by 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental, and its partners Carbon Engineering Ltd and Worley. The two projects are anticipated to remove more than 2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually while providing 4,800 jobs. The DOE stated that 19 additional DAC projects were selected for award negotiations to support earlier stages of project development, be they feasibility assessments or front-end engineering and design studies.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/biden-harris-administration-announces-12-billion-nations-first-direct-air-capture

[USA] DOE announces $20 million in funding for four regional CCUS projects

On October 15, 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that $20 million in funding was awarded to four projects working to accelerate the regional deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).[1] According to the news release, expanding the deployment of CCUS will reduce CO2 emissions from industrial sources and help the U.S. achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The projects, referred to as Regional Initiatives to Accelerate CCUS Deployment, represent all four corners of the country and will each receive $5 million in funding. The Regional Initiatives are university-led partnerships with academia, non-governmental organizations, industry leaders, and local and state governments. They include:

• Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH: the Regional Initiative to Accelerate CCUS Deployment in the Midwestern and Northeastern USA project will consist of 20 Midwestern and Northwestern states to review regional infrastructure and technical challenges to deploying CCUS in three sedimentary basins and the Arches province.

• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, NM: the Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership of the Western United States project will be in 15 Western states and focus on compiling geologic datasets in the region for storage resource analyses and identifying lapses in data.

• Southern States Energy Board in Peachtree Corners, GA: the Southeast Regional Carbon Utilization and Storage Partnership project will extend across 15 Southeast states in an effort to identify at least 50 potential regional sites to evaluate storage resource potential and infrastructure needs.

• University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks, ND: the Plains CO2 Reduction project consists of 13 Northwest states and four Canadian provinces to identify and address onshore regional storage and transport challenges facing the commercial deployment of CCUS.

The initiatives will work to identify and promote CCUS projects by addressing technical challenges to deployment; facilitating the collection, sharing, and analysis of data; evaluating regional storage and transport infrastructure; and promoting regional transfer of technologies.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-awards-20-million-help-states-deploy-carbon-capture-and-storage

[Japan] J-Power and Chugoku Electric Power Would Begin Examining the Potential for Carbon Recycling Technology through an Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle Demonstration Project

On June 5, 2019, J-Power[1], a Japanese power producer, and Chugoku Electric Power announced that they would begin examining the potential for carbon recycling technology through an Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (IGFC) Demonstration Project conducted by Osaki CoolGen[2]. Osaki CoolGen was established by J-Power and Chugoku Electric Power, which aims to develop the next-generation clean coal technologies. It is also supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

Based on the Paris Agreement, the Japanese government has been seeking to advance carbon recycling technology that uses CO2 as a resource, as a part of CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology. Osaki CoolGen’s IGFC Demonstration Project, as part of Japan’s efforts to contribute to CO2 emission reduction, plans to carry out a test of CO2 capture technology from this coming December to FY 2020. Based on the results, J-Power and Chugoku Electric Power will consider demonstrating the carbon recycling technology that can be deployed for a wide variety of purposes by using CO2 captured from coal-fired power plants. The project will also research how to liquefy and transport the collected CO2 to targeted facilities as well as how to utilize it in various applications, including the acceleration of biofuel production from microalgae, production of concrete materials containing CO2, etc.[3]

[1] http://www.jpower.co.jp/english/company_info/operations_in_japan/

[2] https://www.osaki-coolgen.jp/

[3] https://b2b-ch.infomart.co.jp/news/detail.page?IMNEWS1=1490873

[Japan] NEDO Initiated the Third Phase of an Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle Demonstration Project

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) recently announced that it had initiated the third phase of an Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (IGFC) Demonstration Project on April 17, 2019. The third phase of the IGFC Demonstration Project will focus on combining an Oxygen-blown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with CO2 capture technology and fuel cells, aiming to verify the system performance. This system will capture CO2 from syngas to produce hydrogen-rich gas to use as fuel. The project is being conducted by NEDO and OSAKI CoolGen Corporation, a joint venture company between Chugoku Electric Power and Electric Power Development Company (J-POWER).

In Japan, coal-fired power generation accounts for approximately 30% of the domestic power generation. However, coal-fired power generates more CO2 than other fossil fuels. NEDO has launched the IGFC Demonstration Project in order to explore opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions from coal generation in FY2018. The project aims to develop a commercial-scale IGFC system (500 MW-class) with approximately 47% Higher Heating Value (HHV) and a CO2 capture rate of 90 percent. The first phase of the project consisted of a demonstration of Oxygen-blown IGCC and the second phase included testing the IGCC with CO2 separation and capture technology. The IGFC Demonstration Project will run until FY2022.[1]