The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) recently announced up to $43 million is now available in funding to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Funding will enable power generators to be responsive to grid conditions in a high variable renewable energy (VRE) penetration environment. As more VRE’s – such as wind and solar – are integrated into electric power systems, technical challenges arise from the need to maintain the balance between load and generation at all times.
The FLExible Carbon Capture and Storage (FLECCS) program seeks to develop technologies that address difficulties in de-carbonization of electricity systems – focusing specifically on complications in CCS design, operations, and commercialization potential.
“Flexible CCS technology has the potential to achieve unprecedented carbon capture that will revolutionize the market,” said deputy secretary Dan Brouillette. “The FLECCS program will quickly advance our carbon capture technology to bring us closer to flexible, low-cost, net-zero carbon electricity systems.”
FLECCS projects will develop retrofits to existing power generators as well as new systems with carbon-containing fuel input and electricity output.
The program will have two phases. Phase 1 will focus on designing and optimizing CCS processes that enable flexibility on a high-VRE grid. Phase 2 will focus on building components, unit operations, and small prototype systems to reduce the technical risks and costs associated with CCS systems.
A portion of the funding will be made specifically available for qualifying small business applicants under ARPA-E’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. More information about the program can be found here: HERE and to apply for funding, see ARPA-E eXCHANGE.