Since 1997, Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy’s Carbon Storage program has significantly advanced the carbon capture and storage (CCS) knowledge base through a diverse portfolio of applied research projects. The portfolio includes industry cost-shared technology development projects, university research grants, collaborative work with other national laboratories, and research conducted in-house through the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Research and Innovation Center.

The Carbon Storage Program is administered by the FE Office of Clean Coal and Carbon Management. The primary focus of the Program going forward is on early-stage R&D to develop coupled simulation tools, characterization methods, and monitoring technologies that will improve storage efficiency, reduce overall cost and project risk, decrease subsurface uncertainties, and identify ways to ensure that operations are safe, economically viable, and environmentally benign.

Key Program goals include:

  • Determining the CO2 storage resource potential of on and offshore oil, gas, and saline bearing formations
  • Improving carbon storage efficiency and security by advancing new and early-stage monitoring tools and models
  • Improving capabilities to evaluate and manage environmental risks and uncertainty through integrated risk-based strategic monitoring and mitigation protocols
  • Disseminating findings and lessons learned to the broader CCS community and key stakeholders

The program is comprised of three primary components: (Click on each for more information)

  1. Storage Infrastructure,
  2. Core Storage Research and Development, and
  3. Strategic Program Support.

These three components work together to address significant technical challenges in order to meet program goals that support the scale-up and widespread deployment of CCS.

As of January 3, 2018, over 16 million metric tons of CO2 has been injected in the United States as part of DOE’s Clean Coal Research, Development, and Demonstration Programs. The projects currently injecting CO2 are within DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership Program and the Major Demonstration Program.