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A Message from Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary
Earth Day is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than by recognizing the important work we’re doing in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM).
During the first quarter of 2023, we announced project selections for several funding opportunities supporting carbon management, methane mitigation, and critical minerals production, including two projects funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These projects are key to helping us meet the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Read more about these announcements below.
Last month, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues from across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Houston, Texas at CERAWeek, one of the world’s most prominent annual gatherings of energy leaders. During the event, FECM hosted a natural gas roundtable with industry, non-governmental organizations, and government officials from around the globe. We discussed elements of a potential global framework for measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification of the greenhouse gas intensity of natural gas across the supply chain. I also delivered closing remarks at CarbonClean’s event on accelerating decarbonization strategies for hard-to-abate industries. Read our recap blog to learn more about FECM’s involvement in CERAWeek.
We have also continued to engage with communities and stakeholders to hear first-hand about their needs regarding FECM projects and initiatives and to share our expertise and resources. Be sure to visit our new engagement hub, a centralized source of information regarding FECM’s domestic and international engagement efforts.
I look forward to continuing collaborating with communities and stakeholders like you as we work to build a clean energy and industrial economy.
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Sincerely,
Brad Crabtree
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
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Celebrate Earth Day with FECM
Join us in celebrating Earth Day this year. Follow FECM on social media and share a photo showing your appreciation for our planet. You can create your own post, or comment on FECM’s Earth Day post! Be sure to tag FECM and use the hashtag #FECMEarthDay. Find our social media pages and handles below.
Meaningful stakeholder engagement and outreach are critical to ensuring projects funded by DOE provide tangible benefits to affected communities and workers and to help foster understanding and support for clean energy technologies and infrastructure. Check out some of our new resources, included below.
Fact Sheets on Carbon Management and Inflation Reduction Act Opportunities
Two new fact sheets detail how the Inflation Reduction Act's historic commitment to energy and climate action has the potential to support development of carbon management projects and infrastructure to benefit the economy and communities of the State of Alaska and Western energy-producing Tribal Nations, while delivering deep reductions in carbon emissions.
Carbon Dioxide Removal Resources
Carbon dioxide removal encompasses a variety of approaches that remove carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. Learn more about carbon dioxide removal and FECM’s research and development efforts in our new fact sheet and blog.
Revamped Carbon Negative Shot Webpage
DOE updated and redesigned its Carbon Negative Shot webpage to be a trusted resource for information on carbon dioxide removal and highlight the pathways DOE is pursuing under this Earthshot.
Do you want more information about an FECM program topic? Let us know by emailing us: FECMCommunications@hq.doe.gov.
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Apply Now! Current FECM Funding Opportunities
DOE announced more than $2.5 billion in funding for two carbon management programs that will catalyze investments in carbon capture systems to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power and industrial operations.
This solicitation offers an opportunity for private industry to partner with DOE’s national labs to advance lab-developed intellectual property toward commercialization in four technology areas including Carbon Dioxide Removal Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification; Hydrogen Quantification; Critical Mineral and Rare-Earth Element Characterization and Extraction; and Natural Gas Infrastructure Methane Quantification.
FECM launched two direct air capture (DAC) prizes, the DAC Pre-Commercial Energy Program for Innovation Clusters Prize and the DAC Pre-Commercial Technology Prize. The American-Made DAC Prizes support the advancement of direct air capture technologies needed for hard-to-decarbonize sectors and to remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while incorporating community benefits planning and engagement and workforce development.
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What's New in Carbon Management
FECM announced $131 million for 33 research and development projects under its Carbon Management and Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise Phase II funding opportunity announcements. The projects will address technical challenges of capturing carbon dioxide from power plants and industrial facilities or directly from the atmosphere and assess potential carbon dioxide storage sites.
DOE announced nearly $47 million in funding for 22 research projects to advance the development of new and innovative measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies to help detect, quantify, and reduce methane emissions across oil and gas producing regions of the United States.
DOE announced $16 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for two engineering studies led by the University of North Dakota and West Virginia University, respectively, that will support future development of a first-of-a-kind critical minerals production refinery. These project teams will study how to extract critical minerals from coal mine waste streams as the first of two project phases.
FECM announced $6 million in funding for six university-led research and development projects that will repurpose domestic coal resources for products that can be employed in clean energy technologies.
FECM awarded $4.5 million in funding for Pennsylvania State University to study ways to improve turbine performance and efficiency to ramp up the use of low-carbon fuels—including sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen for power production.
FECM announced nearly $2.7 million for five research and development projects that will help accelerate national and international deployment of carbon management technologies that capture carbon dioxide for permanent geologic storage or conversion to other valued end uses under the Accelerating Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies initiative's fourth call for projects.
Congratulations to the student team from Appalachian State University for being selected as the EnergyTech University Prize FECM Technology Bonus Prize Winner! The team was awarded $25,000 from FECM for their entry, which addressed the production and sale of biochar to be used specifically as an aggregate in the production of cement and concrete.
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FECM Celebrates Black History Month and Women’s History Month
We celebrated Black History Month and Women’s History Month by featuring some of our outstanding FECM All-Stars through our social media and blogs. Staff members shared with us the importance of recognizing the notable contributions made by Black Americans and women to our country.
Meet Our New FECM All-Stars
Welcome to the team!
- Emily Connor - Physical Scientist, Carbon Dioxide Removal and Conversion
- Kevin Dooley - General Engineer, Carbon Transport and Storage
- Andrew Govert - General Engineer, Methane Mitigation Technologies
- Michael Kolian - General Engineer, Systems, Economic & Environmental
- Gillian Rosen - Physical Scientist, Carbon Transport and Storage
- Christina Waldron - General Engineer, Office of Strategic Planning, Analysis and Engagement
- Suzanne Waltzer - Physical Scientist, Policy and Analysis
 Interested in Joining our Team? We’re Hiring!
FECM is looking for enthusiastic, driven professionals to join our team and help lead the clean energy charge. We are seeking highly skilled individuals who are passionate about helping FECM achieve its mission of minimizing the environmental impacts of fossil fuel energy and production while working toward net-zero emissions.
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 NETL Spotlight
A new facility will be established at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to jumpstart development of direct air capture technologies that can provide new economic opportunities while removing carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. Scheduled to come online in 2024, the new facility aims to offer the gold standard for validating new direct air capture concepts.
NETL researchers have been awarded a U.S. patent to use domestically sourced coal and coal wastes as the feedstock to produce nanosheets that can be instrumental to manufacture safer, more fuel-efficient vehicles, durable roads and bridges, and much more.
FECM announced $150 million in funding through the Inflation Reduction Act to support infrastructure and laboratory modernization upgrades at all three of its NETL research sites. This effort will help enhance NETL’s capabilities and competitiveness in developing technologies to address climate change and advance a clean energy and industrial economy.
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