Office: Carbon Management
FOA number: DE-FOA-0002614
Download the full FOA: FedConnect
FOA Amount: $30 million

Background Information

On September 30, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced up to $30 million in funding for research and development (R&D) projects to advance carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches that will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution by capturing it directly from both the atmosphere and oceans and converting it into valuable products such as fuels and chemicals. Direct air and ocean capture of CO2, with permanent storage of the captured CO2 in geological formations or converted to value-added products, has a critical role in helping the United States achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Projects selected under this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will perform conceptual design studies followed by field validations of cost-effective processes for ocean-based carbon capture and for direct air capture of CO2 coupled with carbon-free hydrogen and captured CO2 to create carbon-neutral methanol, a chemical building block for many valuable products. Selected projects will support the cost and performance goals of DOE’s Carbon Negative Shot initiative, which calls for innovation in CDR pathways that will capture CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently store it at meaningful scales for less than $100/net metric ton of CO2-equivalent.

In addition to advancing CO2 removal and conversion technologies, potential award recipients must carefully address societal considerations and impacts, emphasizing active engagement of local communities and avoiding the imposition of additional burdens on disadvantaged communities. These projects are part of the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities. To support these equity and justice priorities, recipients will be required to explain how their projects will deliver energy and environmental justice benefits and mitigate impacts; conduct community and stakeholder engagement; incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and promote workforce development and quality jobs.

The deadline to submit applications for this funding opportunity has closed.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include individuals, institutions of higher education, for-profit and non-profit organizations, state and local governments, and Tribal Nations.

Download the full funding opportunity for more information on eligibility.

Areas of Interest

This funding opportunity announcement has two (2) areas of interest:

2F: Carbon Dioxide Removal R&D: Field Validation of Abiotic Ocean-Based Carbon Removal
Conceptual design studies followed by field validations of cost-effective processes for abiotic ocean-based capture to make significant progress towards reaching DOE’s Carbon Negative Shot target of less than $100/net tonne CO2e removed

2G: Carbon Dioxide Removal R&D: Integrated Carbon-Neutral Methanol Synthesis from Direct Air Capture and Carbon-Free Hydrogen Production
Conceptual design studies followed by a laboratory validation of cost-effective processes for carbon-neutral methanol synthesis from CO2 removed from air by direct air capture (DAC) and carbon-free hydrogen

Funding

In Phase 1, DOE expects to make up to 20 new awards between $200,000-$400,000 each with a minimum of a 20% cost-sharing from the awardees.

Phase 1

In Phase 2, DOE expects to make up to 4 new awards between $4M-$8M each with a minimum of a 20% cost-sharing from the awardees.

Phase 2

Key Dates

Awardees

On January 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $38 million for 22 projects that will look specifically at assessing potential resources for mineral carbon storage—where the carbon dioxide becomes permanently stored as a solid mineral through a chemical reaction.  

Awardees include:

• Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona
• Board of Regents, University of Nebraska, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
• CMS Enterprises Company
• Electricore, Inc.
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation
• Holocene Climate Corporation
• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
• Ohio University
• Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (PARC)
• Research Triangle Institute
• Susteon Inc.
• TDA Research, Inc
• University of Alabama
• University of Hawaii
• University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• University of North Dakota
• University of Texas at Austin
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• The Washington University

A detailed list of the selected projects can be found here.

Additional Information

• Download the full funding opportunity on FedConnect.
• All applicants must register and apply on Grants.gov and submit questions through FedConnect
• Sign up for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s (FECM) email list to get notified of new FECM funding opportunities and to stay current with our latest news.