WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $17.5 million for four projects that will help lower the costs and reduce the environmental impacts of the onshore production of rare earths and other critical minerals and materials from coal, coal wastes, and coal by-products. The projects, funded by the Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act, will help meet the growing demand for critical minerals and materials in the United States, while reducing our reliance on foreign supply chains. Rare earths and other critical minerals and materials are key to our nation’s defense and to U.S. manufacturing of energy technologies—such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel.

Since joining the Lab in 2018, NETL Associate Counsel Kari Skovira has established herself as a leader in the implementation of U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) responsibilities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Interagency Agreement under the Clean Air Act between NETL and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Her work is a vital component in the Lab’s mission to build a sustainable energy future.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $11 million for four selected projects that will help fight climate change by bolstering the nation’s carbon management industry. The projects, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support the transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from industrial and power generation facilities, as well as from legacy carbon dioxide emissions captured directly from the atmosphere, to locations for permanent geologic storage. This effort supports the development of a large-scale carbon management industry, key to achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic climate and clean energy agenda.

Earth Day is an annual event that has been celebrated since 1970 and closely aligns with NETL’s vision to develop sustainable energy solutions and protect the environment for future generations. In celebration of Earth Day, observed tomorrow, April 22, NETL proudly announces the winners of its annual Earth Day Poster Contest.

NETL’s Andy Jones, technology manager for the Lab’s Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Program, shared details of how the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to kick-start a nationwide network of large-scale carbon removal sites using direct air capture (DAC) technology to address legacy carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution and complement rapid emissions reductions.

NETL will present its research in Gasification Systems, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Turbines, Sensors and Controls, Simulation-Based Engineering, University Training and Research and Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, technologies that will help realize a decarbonized economy and power sector, during the 2024 FECM/NETL Spring R&D Project Review Meeting in Pittsburgh April 23-25.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced the selection of five research and development (R&D) projects to receive nearly $8 million for the treatment and management of produced water—or wastewater associated with oil and natural gas development and production—and the management of legacy wastewater associated with coal-based thermal electric power generation facilities. These projects are in addition to $10 million for four projects previously announced in December 2023 to help lower the cost of developing and demonstrating technologies to manage wastewater safely and effectively for beneficial end-uses, while supporting DOE’s goals to provide environmental and economic benefits to communities that have been affected by stressed water resources and legacy pollution. These same energy production waste streams also contain recoverable critical minerals and materials, including rare earth elements, that are essential to our national security and to manufacturing clean energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, and hydrogen fuel cells.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced $8 million in federal funding for 14 projects to advance technologies that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial facilities and power plants and convert those CO2 emissions into valuable products. Advancing the development of these technologies will help decarbonize industrial processes and establish the foundation for the development of a successful carbon conversion industry in the United States--supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s ambitious climate goals of achieving a carbon-neutral power sector by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Representatives of the Womanium Foundation, an organization that encourages girls and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), visited NETL along with officials of the Naval Nuclear Laboratory’s Pittsburgh-based Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory to discuss potential collaborative efforts.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected NETL Director Marianne Walck as a 2023 AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions and technical excellence in geophysics, earth sciences and energy and climate science; strategic leadership at two national laboratories; and unwavering diversity, equity and inclusion leadership and advocacy.