NETL demonstrated various technologies under development and emerging best practices to realize the Biden Administration’s goal of transforming the U.S. energy sector during the Smart Grid Observer (SGO) Carbon Capture, Storage & Utilization Virtual Forum, held on Tuesday, July 27.

The event examined the latest technology advances, business models, research findings and real-world applications for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) applications. The forum also emphasized strategies and options for making the economics of carbon capture acceptable to a broad range of businesses and governments.

NETL provided insights and perspectives during sessions on CCUS; Economic Analysis & Modeling; and NETL’s in-house capture and storage programs.

NETL is at the center of technology development that will enable low- and zero-carbon energy and industry. Notable NETL successes over the decades include development and demonstration of technologies that have directly reduced CO2 emissions from power and heavy industry. These include deployment of pollution control technologies that reduced nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emissions by 88% and 82%, respectively; generation of technology solutions for capture, use, and storage of CO2, including negative emissions technologies, such as direct air capture of CO2; creation of advanced materials for aggressive energy conversion, storage, and transport environments; and technologies that enabled recovery of the nation’s critical materials and rare earth elements.

NETL Director Brian Anderson kicked off the NETL presentations by detailing the Lab’s focus on maturing high-impact CCUS technologies that enhance low-carbon energy and approaches to carbon management, in an effort to achieve a net-zero goal by midcentury.

NETL representatives highlighted the Lab’s CCUS focus from several angles, such as:

• DOE’s Geologic Carbon Storage Program Overview by NETL Carbon Storage Technology Manager Mark McKoy
• Progress Toward Decarbonization of Natural Gas Power Generation by NETL Carbon Capture Technology Manager Dan Hancu
• CCUS Economic Analysis & Modeling by NETL Associate Director Peter Balash
• High Performance Polymer Blend Membranes for CO2 Capture by NETL Research Scientist Lingxiang Zhu
• Estimating Storage Capacity and Risk for Geologic Carbon Storage in the U.S. by NETL Research Engineer Dustin Crandall

“With more than 1,300 top-tier employees guiding more than 1,000 R&D projects in 50 states with a total award value of $5 billion, our Lab is proud to take a leading role in our country’s energy transformation to combat climate change via CCUS technologies,” Anderson said. “However, accomplishing such a task will be a team effort. That’s why it’s so important that we get together with members of industry and other stakeholders to have these demonstrations to show there’s nothing out of reach when we work together.”

Other topics addressed during the forum included enhanced oil recovery technologies, regulatory and policy challenges facing CCUS, driving down project costs, along with planning and development of CO2 transport networks, among others.

SGO is an online information resource serving the global smart energy industry and organizes several conferences each year on topics related to smart energy. SGO daily delivers the latest news and information concerning key technology developments, deployment updates, standards work, business issues, and market trends driving the smart grid industry worldwide.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. Through its world-class scientists, engineers and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans, advancing environmental justice and revitalizing the economies of disadvantaged communities. Leveraging the power of workforce inclusivity and diversity, highly skilled innovators at NETL’s research laboratories in Albany, Oregon; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania conduct a broad range of research activities that support DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy and environmental challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.