The National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), a cornerstone of U.S. innovation for testing and demonstration of carbon management technologies established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL in 2009, recently achieved the milestone of performing 150,000 hours of technology testing. Southern Company operates NCCC in Wilsonville, Alabama, through a cooperative agreement with DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and NETL.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced up to $100 million to help develop a commercially viable carbon dioxide removal industry in the United States. The funding will support pilot projects and testing facilities to demonstrate and scale carbon dioxide removal technologies that reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution by removing it directly from the atmosphere and then storing the CO2 in geological, biobased, and ocean reservoirs or converting it into value-added products.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has named Marianne Walck, Ph.D., as the new director of NETL.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a Notice of Intent (NOI) to make funds available to help measure and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Methane is a climate “super pollutant” that is more potent than carbon dioxide and responsible for approximately one third of the warming from greenhouse gases occurring today.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has been selected to receive a new grant to advance the laboratory’s commitment to Executive Order (E.O.) 14057’s net-zero carbon emissions buildings goals and put the laboratory one step closer to becoming the first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility to operate with 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by the end of fiscal year 2026.

NETL researchers have harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a tool that can ingest enormous amounts of unstructured geological data such as publications, maps, websites and presentations and then accurately label the visual data — work that could lead to a better understanding of the subsurface for safer energy production and carbon dioxide storage.

To help commercial, regulatory, and energy research professionals more effectively explore and interact with complex and evolving data, and glean insights through interactive maps, NETL developed EDX Spatial — a game-changing platform that empowers users to visualize data seamlessly through online mapping. 

Morgantown High School’s Team 1 claimed victory at the 33rd West Virginia Science Bowl (WVSB) Regional High School Competition, held Saturday, Feb. 3, in an in-person format for the first time in years at the West Virginia University (WVU) Mountainlair. Twenty-four teams from 18 high schools participated in the contest, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL. The WVSB tested students’ knowledge of math and science in a fast-paced, quiz-style tournament.

Suncrest Middle School’s Team 1 captured first place at the 33rd West Virginia Science Bowl (WVSB) middle school competition, which was held Friday, Feb. 2. Sixteen teams from 10 middle schools throughout the Mountain State participated in the event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL.

Gary Covatch can recall his first day on the job at NETL-Morgantown with vivid clarity. “My new boss was off sick the day I started,” he said. The individual filling in for the supervisor had not been informed that the recent Pennsylvania State University graduate was reporting for duty. “So it was kind of a shock to that person when I showed up,” Covatch said.