Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC)

On Friday, November 5th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which will now be sent to President Biden to be signed into law. 

The IIJA includes $12.1 billion for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology activities that are supported by CURC.  In particular, the bill includes legislation advocated for by CURC to fund CCUS large-scale pilot and demonstration projects, large-scale carbon storage projects, and CCUS transportation infrastructure.  Each of these activities are recommended in the CURC-EPRI Roadmap and are a critical component of scaling CCUS technologies towards commercialization. The bill also includes significant funding for hydrogen-related RD&D activities and allows for hydrogen produced via fossil fuels with CCUS to qualify for that funding.

CURC Executive Director Shannon Angielski issued the following statement in support of the legislation:

“The Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC) welcomes the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in the House of Representatives and looks forward to it being signed into law by President Biden. Provisions included in the IIJA to bolster carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) are the product of several years of work by lawmakers who recognize the vital role that CCUS must play to achieve decarbonization objectives and maintain global competitiveness. CURC commends the many leaders representing both parties in both the House and Senate that have championed these provisions.

Deployment of CCUS technologies is necessary to achieve both domestic and international climate objectives, and it will be critical to both preserve and create new well-paying jobs in communities across the United States. In order to achieve those goals, it is critical for the U.S. to move beyond lab- and bench-scale testing of CCUS technologies towards commercial deployment in both the power and industrial sectors. To that end, the IIJA will invest over $12 billion over the next five years to deploy CCUS technologies to support decarbonization of the power and industrial sectors as well as remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also makes critical investments in carbon dioxide transport infrastructure that will underpin the entire CCUS ecosystem.

Combined with the Section 45Q tax credit, the IIJA provisions provide the necessary foundation to deploy first-mover CCUS projects and, ultimately, drive down costs in support of the creation of a CCUS industry in this country that will make the U.S. a global technology leader.

We look forward to working with federal agencies to ensure that these programs are implemented in an effective and efficient manner that will further promote CCUS deployment.”

In response to a Request for Information (RFI) released by the U.S. Department of Energy on “Deployment and Demonstration Opportunities for Carbon Reduction and Removal Technologies” (DE-FOA-0002660), the Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC) provided recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to guide the implementation of the new CCUS Demonstration Program required by P.L. 117-58, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The IIJA provides $12.1 billion over five years for activities related to carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) including funding for large pilots, carbon transportation and storage, and direct air capture activities. CURC’s recommendations focus on the $2.5 billion in funding for DOE over five years to implement a new CCUS Commercial Demonstration, which will require DOE to fund six commercial-scale CCUS demonstration projects including two projects each on coal-fired electric generating units, natural gas-fired electric generating units, and industrial facilities. CURC’s comments also include recommendations on other CCUS-related components of the IIJA, including the Large-Scale Pilot Program and the Carbon Storage Validation and Testing Program.

CURC and its members have extensive experience working in partnership with DOE on its CCUS-related research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities, and are in a unique position to provide recommendations to the Department as it implements this new Demonstration Program. The recommendations provided by CURC reflect the consensus findings of CURC members following a thorough assessment of lessons learned from prior and ongoing projects in partnership with the Department, current CCUS technology deployment needs, and other considerations that will lead to a successful CCUS demonstration program and, in turn, assist in the widespread deployment of CCUS technologies that will contribute to domestic decarbonization objectives and job creation.

“At this critical moment in the effort to reduce emissions from all sectors, it is crucial that funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act be allocated in a manner that advances near-term deployment of CCUS technologies in both the electric power and industrial sectors,” said Shannon Angielski, Executive Director of CURC. “Doing so will provide an effective foundation for robust domestic and international CCUS deployment that climate authorities agree is necessary to achieve global decarbonization objectives. CURC appreciates Secretary Granholm’s consideration of these recommendations and looks forward to working with the Department as it implements this new program.”

The Carbon Utilization Research Council’s (CURC) Executive Director Shannon Angielski provided the following statement on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022:

“The Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC) applauds the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes significant enhancements to the 45Q tax credit that I am certain will lead to unprecedented private sector investment in the carbon management infrastructure of the future.  The inclusion of these improvements is a testament to the leadership role that CURC members have taken in implementing CCS technologies and a product of the carefully cultivated relationships our members have with Members of Congress, which has led to continual progress on the 45Q tax credit program since it was first enacted in 2008.   

Our members are appreciative of the opportunity to work collaboratively with Members of Congress and their staff to identify the needed changes for 45Q to be an effective tool to deploy CCUS projects. Together with our labor members and partners, CURC is encouraged that bill will incentivize the creation of a domestic clean energy job industry that will be critical for a domestic CCUS industry to grow.

The 45Q enhancements will enable CCUS project deployment with the increased credit values for 45Q and a direct payment mechanism that will make project financing accessible. The IRA changes will ensure lower concentration and more costly CCUS projects will be able to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and avoid the need for tax equity markets to get the necessary capital investments in CCUS infrastructure. 

CURC thanks the bipartisan group of Members that introduced the bill that was included in the IRA, as well as Senators Manchin and Smith for their critical leadership on 45Q enhancements.”