US DOE picks projects to store CO2

July 25, 2000
The US Energy Department will fund 13 projects that will seek economic ways to capture and store carbon dioxide, which is believed to contribute to global warming. DOE will spend $13.7 million on the projects over the next 3 years, and the project sponsors will spend $10 million. DOE has received 60 applications.


Washington, DC�The US Energy Department will fund 13 projects that will seek economic ways to capture and store carbon dioxide, which is believed to contribute to global warming. DOE will spend $13.7 million on the projects over the next 3 years, and the project sponsors will spend $10 million.

DOE has received 60 applications.

US Energy Sec. Bill Richardson said, "The selection of these projects signals our strongest commitment to date for carbon sequestration research. Should these projects result in real breakthroughs, America and the world will have a new set of options to help meet the challenges of global climate change."

The department said it funded most of earlier carbon sequestration research projects, while "the new projects are larger-scale partnerships with private research institutions, industries, and universities sharing a major portion of the research costs."

DOE said the goal is to reduce the cost of carbon sequestration from the current $100-300/ton of carbon emissions to $10/ton or less by 2015.

"Costs in this range would add less than 1�/kw-hr to the average electric bill, making sequestration one of the most affordable options for addressing climate change."

Sponsors are Media and Process Technology Co., Pittsburgh; Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC; Advanced Resources International, Houston; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, Calif.; Washington University, St. Louis; Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Tex.; Ohio University, Athens, Ohio; Physical Sciences Inc., Andover, Mass.; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh; and University of Kansas, Lawrence.