DoE to accelerate CO2 removal with US$1.2m prize fund

As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced 24 semi-finalists to receive a total of US$1.2m to scale up their CO₂ removal technologies. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize (CDRPPP) allows companies to compete for the opportunity to deliver CO₂ removal credits directly to DoE.

Carbon removal credits can be purchased by any individual or entity that is interested in responsibly managing their past and/or future CO₂ emissions. This programme will help catalyse the development of CO₂ removal markets, demonstrates rigorous monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification practices through third-party scientific validation, and it provides a model for workforce and community benefits for high-quality credits.  

 “The Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Prize is a first-of-a-kind initiative to catalyse the market for high-quality CO₂ removal credits, helping jumpstart a critical decarbonisation tool,” said US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M Granholm. “Through this prize and the Administration’s new Policy Statement and Principles on Voluntary Carbon Markets, we are giving the private sector the tools they need to make real contributions to our fight against the climate crisis and deliver real benefits to communities across the nation.” 

The CDRPPP provides up to US$35m in total cash awards in the form of Carbon Dioxide Removal Credit Purchase Agreements from DOE. The 24 semi-finalists will receive US$50,000 each to help scale a diversity of carbon dioxide removal approaches across four pathways: 
•  Direct air capture with storage: nine projects – Avnos, Inc, Carbon America , CarbonCapture Inc, Climeworks, Global Thermostat and Fervo Energy, Heirloom, 1PointFive, 280 Earth and 8 Rivers
• Biomass with carbon removal and storage: seven projects – Arbor Energy , Carbon Lockdown, Charm Industrial, Clean Energy Systems, Climate Robotics, Graphyte and Vaulted Deep
• Enhanced rock weathering and mineralization: five projects – Alkali Earth, CREW Carbon, Eion , Lithos Carbon and Mati Carbon
• Planned or managed carbon sinks: three projects – Ebb Carbon, Equatic and Vycarb Inc.