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A Message From Leadership
Message from Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg
Our summer 2020 Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship (MLEF) participants are concluding their projects with us this month.
For those not familiar with the MLEF program, the Office of Fossil Energy has provided students with the opportunity to train under the mentorship of engineers and physical scientists while working on mission-focused research projects for the past 25 years.
While students typically work onsite, either at the Department of Energy headquarters or one of our many office/laboratory sites, this year presented unique circumstances. Our MLEF team, mentors, and participants quickly rose to the occasion, adapted to the changes, and took part in a virtual program.
Later this month we're releasing a blog that highlights four of our participants from this summer. We (virtually) met up with them to learn more about their fossil energy research experience and what advice they have for prospective students. Keep your eye out for this blog.
I also encourage you to share the details of the MLEF program with anyone you think may be interested. Applications for next year are opening in September, so please visit the MLEF website for additional information.
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Fossil Energy Monthly Highlights
Hydrogen Strategy: Enabling a Low Carbon Economy
Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels is a versatile energy carrier and can play an important role in a transition to a low-carbon economy.
To summarize the Office of Fossil Energy's (FE) comprehensive plan to accelerate research, development, and deployment in this area, we released a new strategic document.
Download it here.
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In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)
We recently shared our ICYMI blog, which details some of our advancements over the past quarter.
For a snapshot, between April 13th and July 30th, FE issued six new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) totaling $183 million, made $151 million of project selections under five previous FOAs, celebrated our 2020 Gears of Government Award recipients, and launched several new blogs and infographics that highlight program achievements.
You can catch up on these highlights by reading this ICYMI blog.
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FE Selected Additional Project to Enable Near-Zero Water Consumption of Power Plants
In mid-August, FE selected one additional project to receive approximately $1.5 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development under the second closing of funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002001.000001, Crosscutting Research for Coal-Fueled Power Plants.
The selection of this project 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.
You can learn more about this announcement and past ones by visiting the news section of FE's website.
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 NETL-Supported Project Develops Promising REE Extraction Method from Coal Refuse
In a National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)-supported project with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), researchers developed a safe and efficient processing technology that extracts and concentrates rare earth elements (REE) from coal refuse material. The new process decreases the size and cost of needed systems, opening the door to the future commercialization of technologies that can extract REEs from coal refuse.
Virginia Tech’s experiments focused on several fine coal waste materials sampled from active preparation plants in central and northern Appalachian coal basins. The technologies involved the use of ion flotation, which is a process that leverages simple ion-exchange leaching techniques currently used by the industry. The Virginia Tech team focused on modified leaching lixiviants—a novel liquid material used in hydrometallurgy to selectively extract the desired metal from the ore or mineral—instead of using acids to concentrate and extract REEs.
Read more.
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FE at Industry Events
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Event
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Date
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FE Staff Attending
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The United States Energy Association's Critical Minerals-Rare Earth Elements webinar
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August 25, 2020
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Steven Winberg, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy
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FE and the U.S. Energy Association’s National Carbon Capture Roadshow
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September 16, 2020
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Lou Hrkman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal and Carbon Management and Shawn Bennett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas
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National Coal Transportation Association 2020 Spring Conference
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September 21-23, 2020
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Lou Hrkman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Clean Coal and Carbon Management
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Shale Insight 2020
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September 30-October 1, 2020
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Steven Winberg, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy
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Please contact FECommunications@hq.doe.gov with any media inquiries.
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Next Month on Social Media
Be sure to follow FE on social media to keep up with next month's content. Here are the upcoming themes for September:
- Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Technologies
- CCUS Demonstration Projects
- Crosscutting Research
Thank you for reading! See you next month.
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