Published by Todd Bush on September 2, 2024
Michigan to Play Key Role in Carbon Capture and Storage with $5 Million DOE Grant to Western Michigan University
KALAMAZOO, MI – Michigan may play a key role in developing new technologies to capture carbon emissions and store the planet-warming gases deep underground.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a $5 million grant to Western Michigan University (WMU) researchers to help create a roadmap for carbon capture, use, and storage within the Michigan Basin’s geologic formations. The region is believed to have the capacity to permanently store 70 gigatons of carbon dioxide in five key reservoirs—with potential for even more.
>> In Other News: UW to Receive Millions in Federal Funds for Carbon Capture Research
“What’s really something that’s great about Michigan is that we kind of have a portfolio of options,” said Autumn Haagsma, assistant director of the Michigan Geological Survey at WMU.
Carbon dioxide may be able to be stored in the state’s underground rock formations, whether Mount Simon Sandstone in the south, Sylvania Sandstone in the central region, or in the Niagaran Reef or St. Peter Sandstone up north.
Haagsma said carbon has for years been injected into underground rock formations in Michigan as part of enhanced oil recovery, but there are other opportunities, too. Permanent storage in saline reservoirs can be explored, along with new technologies that take advantage of unique geology in the Upper Peninsula.
“When CO2 is introduced into that type of rock it actually mineralizes and turns solid,” she said.
University researchers and students will guide a regional multidisciplinary project to develop a carbon management industry, investigating the various types of carbon dioxide storage.
Collaborators will study three-dimensional modeling for subsurface impacts, transportation pipeline route analysis, seismic risk assessment, other potential uses of the gas, and complete life cycle analysis.
The grant was funded for three years. By the end of the project, researchers will create a sort-of industry guidebook and a county-by-county map of potential places in Michigan where carbon storage is possible.
The federal funding comes as part of a larger, $44.5 million national effort to accelerate commercial-scale carbon capture, use, and storage. The concept is to remove greenhouse gas emissions from sources like industrial plants or factories and store it underground so it can’t contribute to the accelerating climate crisis.
Among the eight other approved grants was a $5 million grant for Carbon Solutions LLC, a Michigan-based company in Okemos. The company will provide technical assistance for a carbon storage project within the Columbia River Basalt formation out West.
Brad Crabtree, DOE assistant secretary for fossil energy and carbon management, said in a statement that these funded projects are meant to advance basin-scale economies for carbon transport and storage.
Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap heat from the sun within the planet’s atmosphere, causing global warming and related climate changes.
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside this Issue 💡 DOE Issues Notice of Intent for Funding to Advance Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies to Drive National Decarbonization 🛢️ Exploring Natural Hydrogen: MAX Power’s Groundbreaki...
Inside this Issue 📜 EPA Issues Draft Permits for Underground Injection Control Class VI Wells in Texas 🎤 Plug Announces Participation at the H.C. Wainwright 26th Annual Global Investment Conferenc...
Inside this Issue 💰 Mantel Secures $30 Million to Bring Low Cost, Energy Efficient Carbon Capture to the Heavy Industrial Sector 🔗 Ontras and H2 Energy Europe Sign MOU to Advance Hydrogen Infrastr...
Plug will collaborate to provide support during the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a global leader...
Ohmium to Collaborate with Ten08 Energy for 500MW Clean Ammonia Project
Ohmium PEM Electrolyzers will generate Green Hydrogen for Ten08 Energy's pioneering 500MW Clean Ammonia Project in Texas.NEWARK, Calif. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ohmium International (“Ohmium...
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO), a leading developer of net-zero hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a de...
Circe Announces $5M Seed Round and Pilot Plant
Boston, MA, Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Circe, a carbon-negative manufacturing company, announced a $5M Seed Round. Investors include ReGen Ventures, Undeterred Capital, Ponderosa Ventures, B...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.