Partnership Reflects Administration's Commitment to Develop Cost-Effective CCS Technologies

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today the creation of the Carbon Capture and Storage Simulation Initiative with an investment of up to $40 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The partnership announced today will bring together national laboratories and regional university alliances to collaborate on advancing the science and research related to carbon capture and storage (CCS). The information gained through the partnership will further the Department's effort to develop lower cost, efficient industrial CCS processes. The collaboration also builds upon the Administration's goal to overcome the barriers to widespread, cost-effective deployment of CCS within 10 years while helping position the U.S. as a leader in the global clean energy race.

"By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can reduce carbon emissions from industrial sources," said Secretary Chu. "This investment is part of our commitment to advancing carbon capture and storage technologies to the point where widespread, affordable deployment can begin in 8 to 10 years.  This partnership will not only help fight climate change, it will create new jobs and position the United States as a leader in carbon capture and storage technologies for years to come," said Secretary Chu.

Using advanced modeling and simulation, researchers will develop science-based methods aimed at lowering the cost of carbon capture while reducing risks associated with its storage.  The efforts by the organizations announced today build upon the efforts of DOE's National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP). The CCS Simulation Initiative will allow NRAP to accelerate the development of a defensible, science-based methodology for quantifying and minimizing potential risks associated with long-term storage of CO2.

The initiative selected today will fund simulation and modeling activities at national laboratories and universities across the country to advance the following areas:

The initiative being announced today is:
 
Carbon Capture and Storage Simulation Initiative (Morgantown, W. Va.) -  National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) and NETL's Regional University Alliance (Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University) is partnering with Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab, and Lawrence Livermore National Lab to develop validated, predictive simulation tools to accelerate the development and deployment of industrial carbon capture and storage technology. This initiative will develop (1) a comprehensive, integrated suite of validated computational models for accelerating CO2 capture technology development and deployment, and (2) a defensible, science-based methodology and tools that can be used to quantify residual risk and long-term liability at CO2 storage sites post-closure. This project will receive $40 million in funding.