Agenda

 
Tuesday, July 27, 2021

All times are Central Daylight Time (UTC -5)

10:00 - 10:30 am
An Introduction to Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) provides technological solutions for critical energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing challenges that are cost effective, enable low-carbon supply chains, and create cleaner and better paying jobs for sustained economic growth. The Laboratory is focused on maturing high impact carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies that enhance low-carbon energy and approaches to carbon management, in an effort to achieve a net-zero goal by mid-century. NETL's world renown expertise in advanced modeling, simulations and machine learning is critical for gaining a deeper understanding of cutting-edge decarbonization technologies and pushing them closer to commercialization. This discussion will map the pathway to decarbonization across a variety of sectors and highlight the most promising technologies NETL is pursuing.

Brian Anderson, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Brian J. Anderson, PhD
Director, National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy    bio

10:30 - 11:00 am
Widening the Feedstock Pool: Creating a Circular Carbon Economy

If we are to achieve climate goals, we need a systems-level view and solutions that can draw on multiple sources of waste carbon. Advances in technology and a global momentum to avert the deepening climate crisis have brought us to the cusp of a new industrial era in which recycled CO2 will be the feedstock, and clean electricity the energy source, to produce the climate-safe materials and fuels that are today made from oil.

Moving to an industry based on refining CO2 rather than oil allows us to harness the very basis of the climate crisis as a climate solution. A transition from oil refining to "carbon refining" enables us to turn the threat of the climate crisis into an opportunity for industrial rebirth, distributed sustainable production, domestic supply chain security, and rural economic development. The technical barriers to end the age of oil and oil-refining have been overcome. A new circular carbon economy based on CO2 and carbon refining provides for a more sustainable and resilient economy, providing a path to correlate economic growth and national prosperity with environmental justice in a positively reinforcing cycle.

Jennifer Holmgren, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren
CEO
LanzaTech   bio

11:00 - 11:30 am      Break

11:30 - 12:00 pm
Economic Analysis & Modeling; CCUS: Competitive, Reliable And Essential

This presentation will examine the plant and systems cost of CCUS in the nation's energy economy. It will highlight the crucial role played by CCUS in credible decarbonization scenarios, contributing competitive and reliable electricity, carbon-reducing technology for industrial sectors, and favorable jobs and incomes for large regions of the United States.

Peter C. Balash, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Peter C. Balash, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Strategic Systems Analysis and Engineering
National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy   bio

12:00 - 12:30 pm
The Development of Large Scale Capture Projects in Illinois: The Next Steps in CO2 Value Chain Development

The unique geology of Illinois provides a major asset for CO2 storage. The abundance of storage sites creates financially attractive opportunities since many large sites are either in proximity to storage sites or can be reached through the construction of a pipeline. Industrial facilities, as well as powerplants, have been shown to be excellent sources for captured CO2. The execution of the US DOE funded CarbonSAFE projects at multiple sites in Illinois has outlined a future path-forward for the state to create a storage network.

This ability to store CO2 has provided a major motivator for large capture pilots and large-scale capture demonstration projects at CO2 emitters within the state. US DOE funding has enabled the maturation of capture technologies that can will be deployed at locations throughout the state. Successful execution of these capture projects over the next five years would coincide well with the development of a network of storage sites for CO2 within the state. Capturing CO2 from these coal-fired sources would also meet Illinois' goals related to reducing its carbon footprint. The combination of a portfolio of test sites, a portfolio of capture/utilization projects, and a large availability of CO2 storage sites enables the state of Illinois to have the necessary infrastructure to capitalize on the potential future markets for capturing, storing, and utilizing CO2 from large emitters.

Kevin OBrien, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Kevin OBrien, Ph.D.
Director, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS)
Prairie Research Institute   bio

12:30 - 1:30 pm      Lunch Break

1:30 - 2:00 pm
High Performance Polymer Blend Membranes for CO2 Capture

Carbon capture and storage is an essential approach to mitigating CO2 emissions to the environment. A key strategy in this regard is to capture CO2 from its large emission point sources such as coal/natural gas power plants, cement plants, and steel mills, where the flue gas mainly consists of CO2 and nitrogen. Membrane technology has inherent advantages for carbon capture because of its high energy efficiency, small footprint, and ease of scale-up. The key to the success of membrane-based CO2 capture is functional and scalable membranes with high gas permeance (i.e., the ability for gases to pass through a membrane) and high selectivity (i.e., how efficiently CO2 is separated from other gases), resulting in low capital cost for membrane systems. This presentation will show the recent NETL's R&D activities on polymeric materials and membranes for carbon capture from the flue gas generated from coal power plants, cement plants, and steel mills. It will cover a series of novel polymer blend membrane materials that exhibited promising CO2/nitrogen separation performance surpassing the Robeson upper bound (i.e., a well-established benchmark for evaluating membrane materials). The ongoing efforts on fabricating and testing highly permeable and selective polymer blend thin-film composite membranes will also be presented.

Lingxiang Zhu, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Lingxiang Zhu, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Research and Innovation Center
National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy   bio

2:00 - 2:30 pm
Progress Towards Decarbonization of Natural Gas Power Generation

This presentation will provide a technical overview of NETL's current efforts towards decarbonization of natural gas power generation.Carbon Capture program consists of two core research areas, Post-Combustion Capture and Pre-Combustion Capture, composed of projects with technology readiness levels (TRL) ranging from conceptual engineering and materials design (i.e., TRL 2) to 25 MW-electrical (MWe) equivalent pilot testing (i.e.,TRL 5-7). These two core areas are focused on creating technological improvements providing a step-change in both cost and performance as compared to current state-of-the-art solvent-based capture systems. Post-combustion systems separate CO2 from the flue gas stream produced by conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants after fuel combustion in air. In this approach, CO2 is separated from nitrogen (N2), the primary constituent of the flue gas. Pre-combustion systems are designed to separate CO2 and hydrogen (H2) from the syngas stream produced by the gasifier in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants. In both cases, R&D is underway to develop technologies based on advanced solvents, sorbents, membranes, hybrid systems, and other novel concepts. . Additionally, the program advances technologies in emerging research areas of Carbon Capture from Industrial Sources and Negative Emissions Technologies such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) and biomass-coal co-firing with Carbon Capture (BECCS).

Dan Hancu, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Dan Hancu
Carbon Capture Technology Manager
National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy   bio

2:30 - 3:00 pm      Break

3:00 - 3:30 pm
DOE's Geologic Carbon Storage Program Overview

The U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored leading edge research and development and technology demonstrations that pave the way for safe, efficient, and secure underground storage of carbon oxides (mostly carbon dioxide, CO2) in a variety of geologic settings, including depleted oil and gas reservoirs and brine-filled deep reservoirs. Over the 23-year history of its Program for Geologic Carbon Storage, DOE has sponsored assessments of the volumetric storage capacity of deep sedimentary rock formations across the U.S., finding sufficient storage capacity for decades of U.S. emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels. DOE's Carbon Storage Program has increased the overall understanding of the physics, chemistry, and geomechanics of carbon storage, which has served as the foundation for the development of new risk assessment and management tools. It has funded research and development of technologies to mitigate the risks of induced seismicity and fluid leaks amongst other concerns.

As a leader in the field, DOE has sponsored pilot-to commercial-scale injection projects that have validated monitoring tools and strategies and developed best practices in several geographic regions and reservoir types. DOE continues to collect information on lessons learned and project costs from a growing number of CCUS demonstration and commercial projects worldwide that promote learning-by-doing, which now influences the choice of research, development, and demonstration projects it supports. This presentation will provide a brief, high-level overview of the DOE's Geologic Carbon Storage Program and how current efforts contribute to the increasing confidence that geologic storage of captured CO2 can be a safe enterprise when broadly applied.

Dan Hancu, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Mark L. Mckoy
Carbon Storage Technology Manager, Geologist/Environmental Advisor
Science & Technology Strategic Plans & Programs
National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy   bio

3:30 - 4:00 pm
Estimating Storage Capacity and Risk for Geologic Carbon Storage in the U.S.

Geologic storage of CO2 is routinely identified as a technology that must be pursued to reduce carbon emissions and slow the repercussions of climate change. Through careful laboratory examinations, numerical modeling, method development, and assessment of risk associated with geologic carbon storage, the research at NETL has provided assistance to operators and entities who wish to store large volume of carbon in subterranean formations. This talk will review some of these accomplishments over the past decade, as well as a glimpse into how these tools and processes are being coupled with machine learning to enhance future geologic storage operations efficiencies.

Dustin Crandall, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Dustin Crandall, Ph.D.
Research Engineer, Geological & Environmental Systems
Reearch & Innovation Center
National Energy Technology Laboratory
United States Department of Energy   bio

4:00 - 4:15 pm      Break

4:15 - 4:45 pm
Perspectives on The Role Of CCUS In China's Path To Carbon Neutrality

China has committed to a goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Currently, coal-fired power accounts for over 60% of the country's electricity generation and about 50% of the its total CO2 emissions. Commitments to increase renewable energy generation capacity by over 300 GW during the 14th Five Year Plan period (2021-2025) are a step towards decarbonizing the power sector, but the large installed base of relatively young coal fired power plants and the structure of the industrial sector suggests that CO2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) will also be needed to reach net zero emissions.

This presentation explores possible roles for CCUS in China's path towards carbon neutrality, and how the path to CCUS deployment in China could differ from other parts of the world. Specific topics that will be considered include: current barriers to CCUS deployment and plans to address them; the role of China's governance and market institutions in helping or hindering development of the CCUS industry; the leverage and posture of state-owned enterprises; and, the impact of massive commitments to renewables deployment on the trajectory of CCUS in China.

Anthony Ku, Carbon captures, storage and utilization expert

Dr. Anthony Ku
Director of Advanced Technologies, National Institute of Clean and Low-Carbon Energy (NICE)
China Energy   bio