Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced the selection of four additional research and development (R&D) projects that will receive $6 million to study new structured material systems and/or component designs for direct air capture (DAC) technology. These four projects join six previously announced DAC projects selected to receive $12 million in DOE funding. View the June 2021 selections here.

“Georgia Tech is one of many institutions in Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District leading the charge towards improved air quality for all,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “This award will allow them to continue innovating technology to reduce carbon emissions. I appreciate Secretary Granholm and the Department of Energy for recognizing this work."

The awards are funded under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002402, Carbon Capture R&D: Bench Scale Testing of Direct Air Capture Components (Technology Readiness Level [TRL] 3) and Initial Engineering Design for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Systems from Air (TRL 6). 

DAC is a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approach that can remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, an important tool to achieving a net-zero carbon economy.  The projects selected today, located in New York, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky, will focus on R&D to reduce costs that impede DAC deployment, while increasing design and operational efficiency to ensure that the removal process is carbon-negative:

• Advanced Integrated Reticular Sorbent-Coated System to Capture CO₂ using an Additively Manufactured Contactor (AIR2CO2 Contactor) — GE Research (Niskayuna, New York)
• Hybridizing heat-integrated 3D printed modules with mass manufacturable, low pressure drop fiber sorbents — Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Energy-Efficient Direct Air Capture System for High Purity CO₂ Separation — University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Electrochemically Regenerated Solvent for Direct Air Capture with Cogeneration of Hydrogen at Bench-Scale — University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (Lexington, Kentucky)

When deployed, CDR technology will help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

A detailed list of the selected projects and their associated areas of interest can be found here.

FECM funds research and development (R&D) projects to reduce the cost of and decarbonize power generation and industrial sources, and to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere to further the sustainable use of the nation’s energy resources. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the NETL website.