Brady PieperThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is reopening a $500 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that will expand the nation’s carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation infrastructure. Administered by the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), the federal funding’s objective is to reduce carbon emissions and advance clean energy technologies in large-scale CO2 transportation systems.
“We must jointly explore solutions to move the growing volumes of captured CO2 to geologic storage or other end-use locations,” Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Brad Crabtree said. “DOE is making investments in large-capacity, common-carrier CO2 transport projects to help spur the development of regional networks our country will need to meet this future increase in demand.”
The FECM anticipates awarding up to 10 grants for first time applicants to the Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (CIFIA) Program, a $2.1 billion federal funding initiative seeking to improve the nation’s carbon network. In this round, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, FECM will deliver future growth grants up to $125 million to projects led by domestic entities, including for-profit organizations and state and local government entities and tribes.
The United States currently transports nearly 60 million metric tons of CO2 per year through pipelines, trucks and other freight methods, but the projected demand for CO2 transport is expected to rise dramatically in the coming decades. To reach a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, officials estimate the country will need to capture and store between 400 and 1,800 million metric tons of CO2 annually.
To meet these growing demands, the FECM will seek proposals for projects that can expand the country’s existing carbon transport infrastructure and increase the efficiency of carbon emissions removal.
Projects that qualify for the grants will provide valuable insights into the costs, benefits and technical challenges of CO2 transport to help inform future policy decisions and accelerate the commercialization of carbon capture technologies.
While FECM encourages entities to apply early, the CO2 FOA will remain open until Jan. 1, 2026, and will be evaluated for award four times throughout the year. Adhering to program requirements, eligible entities will be responsible for at least a 20% non-federal cost-share with awarded projects.
All project work is expected to be completed in five years from the date of the award, as long as three budget periods have passed. Continuance may be awarded to selected projects based on satisfactory performance and the DOE’s go/no-go decision.
The DOE’s funding opportunity is part of a broader federal strategy to allocate substantial resources for the development of carbon management technologies and infrastructure. This initiative also aligns with the FECM’s mission to support the research, development and deployment of carbon transport and storage solutions.
Additional information on the CIFIA grant and loan program and previous investments can be found on the FECM’s CIFIA webpage. The full 193-page FOA, including all ways to apply, eligibility and cost-share requirements, is available here.
Photo courtesy Quartl, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
