The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding a total of $1.2 million to semifinalists in an inaugural award for the development of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal technologies and solutions.
The 24 semi-finalists of the Pilot Prize for Carbon Dioxide Purchase proposed processes and technologies for direct air capture, biomass capture, carbon sinks and alkaline reactions.
Nine projects are working on processes or technologies that capture CO2 from the atmosphere for permanent storage underground or in “long-lived products,” the department said in a statement.
Seven others are exploring the use of plants and algae to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere for permanent storage underground or in long-lived products.
“Five projects remove CO2 by reacting with alkaline materials such as calcium- or magnesium-rich crushed stone,” the DOE said.
“Three projects focus on natural and artificial approaches in terrestrial and higher hydrosphere environments with demonstrable sustainable storage consistent with secure geological storage or equivalent.”
The DOE said, “Importantly, the pricing structure includes a partnership with growing private sector demand for carbon dioxide removal credits by asking semifinalists to elicit private sector purchases.”
Up to 10 teams from the semi-finalists will be chosen as winners of the main prizes. The finalists will each receive an additional amount of up to $3 million under a Carbon Dioxide Removal Credit Purchase Agreement with the DOE for the sale of their credits to the agency.
The inaugural award totals $35 million for credit purchase agreements. It is part of the broader American-Made Direct Air Capture (DAC) awards, which also include the DAC Pre-Commercial Energy Program for Innovation Clusters Prize and the DAC Pre-Commercial Technology Prize.
“The Carbon Removal Purchase Award is a unique initiative to catalyze the market for high-value carbon removal credits to help launch a critical tool for decarbonizing the economy,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Through this award and the government’s new policy statement and principles on voluntary carbon markets, we are giving the private sector the tools they need to make a real contribution to our fight against the climate crisis and deliver real benefits to communities in the whole country”.
Earlier this week, the government issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) Joint Policy Statement and Principles to help ensure the integrity of emissions offsets.
The non-mandatory guidelines affirm the role of carbon credits in achieving climate goals, but recommend not treating offsets as a substitute for activity-level emissions reductions.
“Widespread confidence in the integrity of credited emissions reductions and removals is critical for VCMs to achieve their potential,” according to the policy statement and principles, prepared by the departments of energy, agriculture and treasury and presidential climate and economic advisers.
“However, researchers, journalists and other observers have found that several popular credit methodologies and activities relying on them have not delivered the decarbonization results they claim,” it added.
“Important questions have been raised about how we can ensure that VCMs actually drive additional decarbonisation measures (rather than rewarding what would have happened anyway) that are sustained over time and not simply reduce emissions move elsewhere.
“Additionally, barriers to market participation have inhibited market efficiency and opportunities.”
The first principle states that a carbon credit must represent true decarbonization and that the offset emissions must be kept out of the atmosphere for a specified period of time. Leaks within this period must be “completely remediated”.
“One credit corresponds to only one tonne of carbon dioxide (or its equivalent) reduced or removed from the atmosphere and is not spent twice,” the statement said.
Carbon credit certification bodies should have registries that transparently track the “characteristics, issuance, ownership and withdrawal and/or cancellation of credits, and coordinate where necessary to ensure that activities are not registered with more than one registry.” Authorities should have mechanisms in place to prevent buyers from registering credits more than once.
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