U.S. allocates $3.5 billion in grants to capture and store carbon dioxide

The US government has offered $3.5 billion in grants for the construction of complexes for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using DAC (direct air capture) technology with its subsequent storage. According to the agency Reuters, this is the largest amount of grants in the world allocated for such purposes. In the UK, the agency notes, $ 124 million has been allocated for the development and construction of DAC complexes.

In addition to the actual grants, the US authorities will provide tax incentives in the amount of $180 per tonne of carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere to stimulate the development technologies DAC.

Under the grant program, the US Department of Energy offers three levels of funding ranging from $3 million for project feasibility studies, $12.5 million for engineering design and calculations, and up to $500 million for projects at the construction and commissioning stage. The US authorities would like to end up with four large hubs for capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

As it became known to Reuters, at least nine applications were submitted during the first round. Of these, two large-scale projects by Occidental Petroleum, one by the Swiss climeworks, which has already successfully launched the world’s largest complex for capturing carbon dioxide and its subsequent mineralization in Iceland. There are applications from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Illinois. Winning entries will be announced in the summer.

Alena Miklashevskaya