The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) attended CERAWeek 2022, an annual conference that brings global industry leaders, government officials, and policymakers together to advance ideas and solutions across the energy landscape. Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dr. Jennifer Wilcox participated in various panels and meetings, alongside other DOE experts, to discuss the role FECM has in helping the nation achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Dr. Wilcox, along with Deputy Secretary David Turk and half a dozen other senior DOE officials, ​met with stakeholders and international delegates to discuss how the Department is working to improve energy security and tackle the world’s climate crisis.

Throughout the meetings, the Secretary and Dr. Wilcox underscored DOE’s commitment to decarbonizing the economy while providing reliable energy; advancing the development of approaches such as carbon capture and storage, carbon dioxide removal, and methane mitigation; improving the conditions of communities impacted by the legacy of fossil fuel use; and creating good-paying jobs for the energy workforce of the future.

Dr. Wilcox spoke on two panels: “Direct Air Capture: What will it take to scale up enough?” and “Decarbonization Challenges and Technology Pathways.” Throughout the sessions, she explained that a lot of the work FECM is investing in is associated with decarbonizing fossil fuels and that a portfolio of carbon management solutions will be needed to meet the nation’s climate goals.

“The climate models are telling us that avoiding carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere is not enough, and we need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the accumulated pool in the atmosphere,” said Dr. Wilcox. “To get to net-zero, we need carbon dioxide removal, which will be a critical tool used to offset the sectors that are truly hard to decarbonize today, such as agriculture.”

Dr. Wilcox noted that for us to move forward, industry needs to make sure it can demonstrate the technologies that do exist today at scale.

“We are fortunate to have passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will allow us to fund some of these first-of-a-kind, more costly demonstrations, so we can move down the cost curve. And, combined with federal tax credits that we have in the United States, such as the 45Q tax credit, we can make these approaches economic—not just for the United States, but for other parts of the globe as well.”

The Director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Brian Anderson, spoke on the “Scientific Achievements: Role of National Labs in Advancing Energy Transition” panel alongside experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.

Anderson noted NETL’s role as DOE’s only government-owned and operated laboratory that guides more than 1,000 research and development projects, and that the lab is responsible for developing technologies in coordination with FECM to manage carbon across the full life cycle.

Visit NETL’s website to learn more.

• FECM arrived at CERAWeek 2022 to discuss decarbonization approaches. (Like and share this tweet!)
• Dr. Wilcox explained that carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, and carbon dioxide removal will be required to achieve net-zero. (Like and share this tweet!)
• NETL’s Director Brian Anderson spoke on a panel to discuss how the lab is supporting the clean energy transition. (Like and share this tweet!)
• Secretary Granholm addressed global energy leaders at CERAWeek. (Like and share this tweet!)

Be sure to visit the FECM website and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for more information about our research and development efforts.