The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and NETL have announced up to $5 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002004, Low Cost, Efficient Treatment Technologies for Produced Water.

These projects will accelerate the development and commercialization of treatment technologies that reduce waste water and increase fresh water supplies. The selected projects will support the Produced Water R&D program, which develops technology to reduce the amount of waste water from oil and natural gas production operations.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the selected projects, which will focus on developing new technologies and on improving the efficiency of existing commercial processes — specifically, those that target removal of challenging constituents.

This R&D effort supports the Water Security Grand Challenge, a White House initiated, DOE-led framework to advance transformational technology and innovation to meet the global need for safe, secure, and affordable water. In particular, this FOA advances the Grand Challenge’s goal to transform the energy sector’s produced water from a waste to a resource.

The FOA will produce technologies, i.e., prototypes tested in a relevant environment, and a portfolio of associated reports, each of which will include detailed engineering designs and a techno-economic justification for enhancements to existing commercial produced water treatment processes that can significantly reduce the volume of water requiring deep well disposal and create a supply of fresh water for regional users.

DOE anticipates selecting up to four projects for this FOA. Read more details here.

The Office of Fossil Energy funds research and development projects to reduce the risk and cost of advanced fossil energy technologies and further the sustainable use of the Nation’s fossil resources. To learn more about the programs within the Office of Fossil Energy, visit the Office of Fossil Energy website. More information about the National Energy Technology Laboratory is available on the NETL website.