The US Department of Energy (DOE) is allocating a total of USD1.2bn in funding for two carbon removal projects that employ direct air capture (DAC) technologies, as reported by Reuters on August 11. One of the projects will be managed by Battelle, Climeworks Corporation, and Heirloom Carbon Technologies, known as Project Cypress and located in Louisiana. This initiative aims to capture approximately one million tons of CO2 annually by 2030. Another project will be undertaken in south Texas by Occidental Petroleum’s carbon capture platform 1PointFive, in collaboration with local land management group King Ranch. This project holds the potential to remove up to 30 million tons of CO2 per year once fully operational.

Through substantial federal investments, the DOE aims to facilitate the commercialization of the air capture process, drive cost reduction, and encourage the widespread adoption of DAC facilities throughout the United States. These federal grants are part of the efforts outlined in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, enacted in 2021, which has set aside USD3.5bn to establish four DAC hubs within the next decade. Each of these hubs is designed to have the capability to remove and store more than 1 million tons of CO2 annually. The two DAC hubs planned for Louisiana and Texas will be the largest of their kind. Currently, there are fewer than 30 operating DAC plants operating and six under construction globally. The largest of these is expected to commence operation in Iceland next year, boasting an annual capturing capacity of 36,000 tons a year.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-awards-12-bln-oxy-climeworks-led-carbon-air-capture-hubs-2023-08-11/

https://www.ft.com/content/9aa4a126-707a-41c9-841e-467d969ca766

https://www.science.org/content/article/us-unveils-plans-for-large-facilities-to-capture-carbon-directly-from-air