WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today issued a notice of intent (NOI) to provide funding in support of two carbon management priorities — the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into environmentally responsible and economically feasible products, and the capture of CO₂ from fossil energy-fueled power plants and industrial sources.

The first area of interest will support technologies that utilize CO₂ from point sources such as power/industrial flue gas and direct air capture to produce value-added products while simultaneously reducing CO₂ emissions. Three specific areas of carbon conversion technology that may be supported are:

• Non-photosynthetic biological conversion of CO₂. Research may include, but is not limited to, microbe selection, fermentation, reactor design, electrolyzer integration and gas recycling. Supported research and development (R&D) will identify an end-use for the biomass that consumes the CO₂. 
• Conversion of CO₂ to plastics. Research may use any pathway, whether biological or catalytic (including thermal, plasma, microwave or electrochemical). The research should identify the plastic produced, the intended end-use and the conversion process.
• Conversion of CO₂ to solid carbon products. Research may use any pathway, whether biological or catalytic (including thermal, plasma, microwave or electrochemical) for the conversion of anthropogenic CO₂ to solid carbon products. Research should identify the solid-carbon product produced, the intended end-use application and the conversion process.

A proposed second area of interest focuses on developing lower-cost, highly efficient technologies for point source CO₂ capture from fossil fuel power plants and industrial facilities for secure geologic carbon storage, including in situ mineralization, or conversion into long-lasting products (i.e., synthetic aggregates and concrete).

These enabling technologies will focus on: a) capture media degradation and reclaiming; b) engineering controls addressing emissions — both flue gas pretreatment and capture system emissions; and c) monitoring, reporting and verification approaches/techniques.

This NOI is issued to give applicants ample time to prepare their proposals and form partnerships (if necessary) in anticipation of the upcoming issuance of the funding opportunity announcement. More information, including eligibility criteria, for this NOI can be found here.

FECM conducts research, development, demonstration, and deployment that focuses on technologies to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts from fossil fuel production and use and from key industrial processes, particularly the hardest-to-decarbonize applications in the electricity and industrial sectors. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory website