A message from the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM)

It has been another noteworthy year for FECM, and our team has made significant strides in helping to accelerate the development and deployment of critical technologies and infrastructure needed to achieve U.S. climate goals, ensure domestic and global energy security, and provide economic and environmental benefits to workers and communities.

Early in the year, FECM released its Strategic Vision to support the Biden Administration’s goal of achieving a fully decarbonized power sector by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The principles outlined in this document serve to guide FECM’s work and are reflected below in our Year in Review highlights.

We have been working intensively to implement key provisions of the groundbreaking Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, more recently, the Inflation Reduction Act. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year and makes an unprecedented $13 billion available for carbon management, methane mitigation, and critical minerals production. The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August and provides a comprehensive package of clean energy and industrial tax credits that will further support deployment of technologies in the FECM portfolio, including enhancements to the 45Q tax credit for the capture and geologic storage of carbon dioxide and the new 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Credit and 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit that is applicable to extraction and processing of critical minerals. Together, this legislation represents the most significant U.S. climate commitment to date, and the combination of infrastructure investments and expanded federal tax credits will spur innovation, help build regional hubs for carbon management and clean hydrogen production that create economies of scale and reduce costs, retain and create high-wage jobs, and support economies and communities across energy-producing and industrial regions of our country.

As we wrap up 2022, I am grateful to our FECM team for all the progress outlined in these year-end highlights and look forward to building on this momentum as we work to accelerate research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities in 2023 and beyond.

Brad Crabtree

Assistant Secretary, FECM

2022 Highlights

New Strategic Vision

In April, FECM released its Strategic Vision which details the role fossil energy and carbon management will have in helping the nation achieve its climate goals.  

FECM has prioritized advancing three strategic directions as a part of its research, development, demonstration, and deployment portfolio:

• Carbon management to achieve deep decarbonization
• Technology innovation to foster sustainable energy production
• Justice, labor, and engagement

Download our Strategic Vision infographic to get five key takeaways or read our blog post to learn more.

Funding to Advance Resource Sustainability and Carbon Management Approaches

Since January 2022, FECM has announced funding opportunities totaling over $6.3 billion across its portfolio. This includes approximately $6 billion issued in partnership with other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offices for the following Bipartisan Infrastructure Law programs:

• Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program
• Carbon Capture Technology Program, Front-End Engineering Design for Carbon Dioxide Transport
• Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Program
• Carbon Storage Validation and Testing
• Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility
• Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs
• Technology Commercialization Fund: Carbon Dioxide Removal Measurement, Reporting, and Verification Best Practices and Capabilities Lab Call

FECM also invested approximately $138 million across 78 research and development projects and front-end engineering design studies. Project highlights include:

• $14 Million for Direct Air Capture and Storage Coupled to Low Carbon Energy Resources: Funding for five front-end engineering design studies that will leverage existing zero-or low-carbon energy to supply direct air capture projects, combined with permanent carbon storage.
• $53.8 Million for Clean Hydrogen Technologies: Funding for 21 industry- and university-led research and development projects to support the advancement of clean hydrogen for electricity generation ($24.9 million in May and $28.9 million in August).
• $31 Million for Carbon Capture and Storage for Natural Gas Power and Industrial Sectors:  Funding for 10 projects to develop carbon capture technologies capable of capturing at least 95 percent of carbon dioxide emissions generated from natural gas power plants, waste-to-energy power plants, and industrial applications, including cement and steel.
• $5 million for Undocumented Orphan Wells: Funding for a National Laboratory research consortium as part of a larger 5-year, $30 million dollar effort to identify and characterize undocumented orphan wells in cooperation with the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and federal land management agencies, states, and tribes.

Carbon Management Tools for Stakeholders

In support of the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts of fossil fuel production and use, FECM launched two new interactive tools to assist with advancing carbon management technologies and infrastructure in the United States: 

• Carbon Management Interactive Diagram – An online tool that highlights carbon management programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and through other DOE funding opportunities and informs users about resources that fall under each program. 
• Carbon Matchmaker Tool – An online information resource designed to increase awareness of carbon management funding opportunities; support private sector development of carbon capture, storage, and transportation infrastructure and carbon dioxide removal pathways; and facilitate regional business development opportunities and education. 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

FECM is committed to supporting all of DOE’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) endeavors. Some of our efforts include the following:

Creating Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Students in STEM

FECM is dedicated to building a clean energy workforce that looks like America. Opportunities are available for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as other professional backgrounds.

• Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship (MLEF): The MLEF program provides is a 10-week summer research fellowship for undergraduate and graduate STEM students to help strengthen the field’s diversity.
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Other Minority Institutions (HBCU-OMI): One of the longest-running university training initiative, the HBCU-OMI program provides research and development opportunities for traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM fields.
• EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP): Sponsored by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions and several other program offices, EnergyTech UP aims to cultivate the next generation of energy innovators while accelerating the transfer of energy technologies to market.

FECM is also committed to and passionate about hiring diverse talent. Be sure to check the new Jobs and Internships page for open positions.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement and Benefits

If we are to meet the goal of net-zero CO2 emissions economywide by 2050, we have to deploy technology and infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. This includes not only carbon capture projects and CO2 storage sites, but wind farms and electric transmission lines. Community and stakeholder support has never been more important to project success, so we are expanding our focus and resources devoted to community engagement.

To this end, we are requiring that applicants for FECM funding plan for societal considerations and impacts. FECM has developed comprehensive guidance for incorporating community engagement, DEIA, environmental justice, and quality jobs and workforce development into proposals for funding and ultimately project planning and implementation.

FECM also released its Domestic Engagement Framework, which outlines FECM’s vision and guiding principles for meaningful two-way engagement that can help communities, stakeholders, and tribes become project partners whose input can improve overall outcomes for project developers, while ensuring that tangible environmental, economic, and social benefits flow to communities.

Read our blog post on Centering Equity and Justice in DOE’s Carbon Management Efforts to learn more about how FECM acts on our commitment to advancing justice and equity and supporting all of DOE’s DEIA endeavors—in how we train, how we hire, and how we fund our research, development and demonstration projects.

Two Major FECM Events

Two events hosted by FECM this year, including the first-ever Carbon Negative Shot Summit and second annual Carbon Management Day webinar, brought innovators, advocates, stakeholders, and policymakers from around the world together to discuss advancing carbon management and removal technologies.

• Carbon Negative Shot Summit: On July 20, DOE hosted the first-ever Carbon Negative Shot Summit, an all-hands-on-deck call for innovation in pathways to capture and permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The event brought over 1,700 stakeholders together to increase collaboration to advance the deployment of commercially viable, just, and sustainable carbon dioxide removal.

Read the recap blog to learn more and watch the full Summit video recording.

• Carbon Management Day: Building upon the success of the first-ever Carbon Management Day in 2021, FECM hosted its second-annual Carbon Management Day webinar on December 1. The webinar recognized the progress made to date in the carbon management industry and the work that still needs to be done.  

During the webinar FECM issued two requests for information on the development of field laboratories at carbon storage facilities through the Carbon Storage Technology Operations & Research (CarbonSTORE) initiative and implementation of Future Growth Grants under the Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (CIFIA) program.

Read an event recap and watch the webinar recording.

Advancing Global Partnerships

Scaling up carbon management technologies and approaches is a global challenge that requires global action. FECM is working with international leaders to implement carbon management solutions that provide energy security, increase global access to affordable and reliable energy, and support economic development and job creation in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

• Africa Oil Week 2022: Assistant Secretary Crabtree participated in two keynote sessions and led a workshop where he outlined the importance of clean hydrogen and responsible oil and natural gas development in Africa’s clean energy future.
• Africa Centre of Excellence for Carbon Management: The new Africa Centre of Excellence for Carbon Management, launched during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is an example of how countries and regions around the world are taking committed actions to advance clean energy and carbon management technologies.
• Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad: Part of Mission Innovation, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad is a coalition of countries that have agreed to work collectively to advance carbon dioxide removal projects. Member countries commit to building a demonstration scale carbon dioxide removal project by 2025, sharing data and learnings from these demonstrations, and investing cumulatively at least $100 million in carbon dioxide removal projects.  

We hope you enjoyed learning more about FECM’s activities over the past year. To keep up to date with future announcements, blogs, and more, sign up for our news alerts and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Happy New Year from FECM!