NETL strives to realize new technologies for carbon capture and storage (CCS), which have been recognized as having potential to help achieve a net-zero carbon emissions energy sector. However, taking CCS processes from concepts to reality requires reliable data from a multitude of sources in a one-stop digital stop. That’s where NETL’s Energy Data eXchange (EDX) Carbon Storage Data Resources can help.

Home to thousands of publicly available carbon storage research products, EDX is a virtual library and data repository designed to support the entire life cycle of energy research data products, making data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. NETL created EDX in response to a growing need to easily access carbon storage research and development products by implementing data curation and preservation. Having such capabilities and accessible data can assist stakeholders in their respective CCS projects at all phases.
By integrating energy data products while also connecting users to outside data resources, EDX has created an environment to find, visualize, explore and download relevant carbon storage data all in one convenient location. Some of the tools within EDX to make users’ various CCS projects easier include the following:

• The Natcarb Database contains geospatial information, along with CO₂ point source emitter information, to guide users toward sources of CO₂ emissions and potential storage sites around the country.
• The GeoCube, EDX’s geospatial data mapping platform, features hundreds of spatial carbon storage data layers and enables users to explore, visualize, query and download data based on spatial location, keywords and data type.
• The Carbon Storage Open Database, a collection of spatial data layers from public websites and data servers, consists of geologic, hydrologic, surface and subsurface data.

“CCS has been a priority research topic at NETL for years, and EDX is a vehicle for getting our research and data into the hands of those who can use it effectively, all while granting researchers access to information that can help advance their projects,” said Jennifer Bauer, a federal researcher at NETL. “EDX provides us a necessary tool that supports the endeavor to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the power sector no later than 2035 and the broader economy 2050.”

NETL has produced a video detailing the EDX virtual library and how users can navigate it and use its various tools, which can be accessed here. EDX itself can be accessed by clicking here.

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.