NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., joined U.S. Department of Energy Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management Jennifer Wilcox in highlighting the Lab’s research into carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen power technologies that could be keys to success in America’s unfolding energy transformation during the 2021 Shale Insight conference.

Held in Pittsburgh from Sept. 28-30, Shale Insight included a Technology Showcase. Attending it as an exhibitor allowed NETL to review emerging technologies that will create value, reduce costs and generate competitive advantages to address Appalachian Basin shale industry challenges and support science-based technologies and decisions that will benefit all stakeholders.

Speaking to shale industry leaders during technical breakout sessions on Sept. 30, Anderson detailed NETL’s recent research and application of CCS in conjunction with the latest developments in hydrogen power. Combined, these   technologies could be integral to the country’s clean energy future. The director’s updates on NETL’s cutting-edge research and advancements in these arenas also provided a development path forward that could lead to commercialization of new CCS and hydrogen power production

NETL is actively researching the direct conversion of methane into solid carbon and hydrogen gas, which when combined with CCS, is an energy source that results in zero carbon emissions. Perfecting such technologies will enable Appalachia’s vast natural gas to power the economy for the foreseeable future while addressing climate change.

“Meeting the needs of an increasingly high-tech, energy-hungry economy while decarbonizing our nation’s energy sector to address the effects of climate change will be a team effort; no one institution can do it alone,” Anderson said. “Shale Insight brings together some of the brightest minds in industry. Participating is not only a great way to showcase our research but also gain valuable insights into the latest practices and technologies being developed by industry and academia which can enhance the work of our Lab’s talented engineers and scientists.”

That same day, Wilcox spoke during a session called “The Energy Future of Natural Gas” which detailed the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach to addressing methane emissions, multiple uses of hydrogen, carbon removal, the global role of liquified natural gas and the engagement of frontline communities in environmental justice endeavors.

Anderson also highlighted NETL’s participation in the White House Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization to ensure efforts to decarbonize the economy also translate to new employment opportunities and prosperity for America’s mining and power plant communities that have kept the lights on for decades.

Established by President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, IWG is working to catalyze economic revitalization, create good-paying union jobs and support work in energy communities, especially hard-hit coal, oil and gas, and power plant communities, across the country.

The group’s initial report assessed priority geographies and existing authorities available to the government to support energy communities as the nation shifts to a clean energy economy. The IWG is now charged with advancing President Biden’s commitment of robust federal leadership in direct partnership with energy communities to foster investment and economic revitalization, ensure the creation of good-paying jobs that provide an opportunity to join a union, remediate mining and drilling lands and plant sites to address environmental degradation, and secure the benefits that workers have earned.

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. By leveraging its world-class talent 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.