Release Date: June 15, 2009

DOE Seeks Proposals to Increase Investment in Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects
Paves Way for First U.S. Commercial Scale Carbon Capture and Storage Project

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement soliciting projects to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from industrial sources and to put CO₂ to beneficial use. The successful development of advanced technologies and innovative concepts to prevent CO₂ from being emitted into the atmosphere is a key component of national efforts to mitigate climate change.

Projects will be selected in two technology areas:

• Large-scale industrial carbon capture and sequestration projects from industrial sources ($1,321,765,000) —The objective of this technology area is to demonstrate advanced technologies that capture CO₂ emissions from industrial sources—such as cement plants, chemical plants, refineries, steel and aluminum plants, and manufacturing facilities—and store the CO₂ in deep saline formations and deep geologic systems including basalts, operating or depleted oil and gas fields, and unmineable coal seams. In the evaluation process, greater weight will be given to projects that propose to capture and sequester one million tons of CO₂ per plant per year by 2015 as an integral component of commercial operation.

• Innovative concepts for beneficial CO₂ use ($100,000,000) —The objective of this technology area is to demonstrate innovative concepts for beneficial CO₂ use, where "use" is defined as the permanent conversion of CO₂ from flue gas into another form such as solid carbonates, plastics, and fuels. These breakthrough concepts have the potential to mitigate CO₂ emission in areas of the country where geologic storage may not be an optimal solution.

The FOA, which is available at Grants.gov and FedConnect.net, provides instructions for the preparation and submission of an application and outlines the mission need and background, project description, and the primary technical goals and functional performance requirements. The announcement also outlines the criteria by which applications will be evaluated, the terms and conditions of a model cooperative agreement, and the cost-sharing required for government-industry cooperation.

Projects under this FOA will be funded with funds appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Recovery Act’s purposes are to stimulate the economy and to create and retain jobs. The Act gives preference to activities that can be started and completed quickly. Accordingly, special consideration will be given to projects that promote and enhance the objectives of the Act—especially job creation, preservation and economic recovery—in an expeditious manner.

The closing date for applications is August 7, 2009. Selection announcements are anticipated in September 2009.