(638a) An Overview of the U.S. Doe Carbon Storage Program’s Approach to Developing Safe, Effective Commercial Carbon Storage Technologies

The Carbon Storage Program implemented by the U.S. Department of Energyâ??s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is helping to develop technologies that safely and permanently store carbon dioxide (CO₂) without adversely impacting natural resources or hindering economic growth. Specifically, the Carbon Storage program is developing and advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies both onshore and offshore that will significantly improve the effectiveness of the technology, reduce the cost of implementation, and be ready for widespread commercial deployment. Since 1997, DOEâ??s Carbon Storage program has significantly expanded the CCS knowledge base in selected technology areas through a diverse portfolio of applied research projects and field demonstrations. The Storage program is comprised of three primary technology components: (1) Advanced Storage R&D, (2) Storage Infrastructure, and (3) Sub-Disciplinary R&D. These areas work together to address significant technical challenges in order to meet program goals that support the scale-up and widespread deployment of CCS.

The Carbon Storage Program pursues the advancement of fossil fuel power-generation technologies by supporting the development of technologies which follow a sequential progression of scales (stages) toward making the technology available for commercial deployment. The scale of a technology is the size of the system relative to the final scale of the application, which in this case is a full-scale commercial power production or industrial facility. As RD&D progresses, the scale of the tests increases incrementally from lab/bench scale, to pilot scale, to pre-commercial scale, and to full-commercial scale. The acceptable degree of system integration at each scale is based on the scope of the technology under development within a particular research effort. As the test scale increases, the duration and cost of the projects increase, as does the probability of technical success. In order to assess the progress towards commercialization of a specific technology, a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) concept has been adopted by the Carbon Storage Program to help guide and evaluate the RD&D process. TRLs provide an assessment of the technology development progress on the path to meet final performance specifications. The TRL for a technology is established based upon the scale, degree of system integration, and test environment in which the technology has been successfully demonstrated.

CCS and other clean coal technologies are expected to play a critical role in mitigating CO₂ emissions while supporting energy security throughout the world. DOEâ??s Carbon Storage program has positioned the United States on a path toward ensuring that the enabling technologies will be available to address the demands of new regulations and impact CCS projects in the 2020â??2030 timeframe. Continued U.S. leadership in technology development and future deployment is important to the cultivation of economic rewards and new business opportunities, both domestically and abroad.