Department of Energy Announces $56.5 Million in Coal Technology Research Funding

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced 32 winners receiving a total of $56.5 million in federal funding for research and development (R&D) projects that support advanced coal technologies and research.

These awards come from six different funding announcements (FOA) that support DOE’s commitment to strengthening clean coal technologies through a variety of means such as: carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); steam turbine efficiency; crosscutting R&D; and advanced materials.

“The Department of Energy is committed to advancing technologies that will allow us to meet our energy needs in an environmentally responsible way,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. “We will continue our commitment to investing in research, development, and demonstration initiatives to drive these innovative clean coal technologies forward.”   
  
The six FOAs that received awards are:

• Maximizing the Coal Value Chain. These projects will develop innovative uses of domestic coal for upgraded coal-based feedstocks used to produce power and make steel, and for producing high-value products from coal or coal by-products—ultimately creating new market opportunities for coal.
• Advancing Steam Turbines for Coal Boilers.  These projects will seek to improve the performance of steam-based power cycles, resulting in lower cost electricity with reduced emissions per megawatt-hour from coal fueled boilers.
• Crosscutting Research for Coal-Fueled Power Plants. These projects will develop innovative technologies that enhance the performance and economics of the existing and future coal fleet—thereby lowering electricity costs for consumers.
• Advanced Materials for High-Efficiency, Flexible and Reliable Coal-Fueled Power Plants. These projects will focus on enhancing the cyclic durability and reducing the cost of materials used in advanced ultra-supercritical (AUSC) power plants.
• Process Scale-Up and Optimization/Efficiency Improvements for Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Critical Materials (CM) Recovery from United States Coal-Based Resources. These projects will advance technology development for recovery of REE and CM from domestic coal-based resources via conventional extraction, separation, and recovery processes.
• Transformational Sensing Systems for Monitoring the Deep Subsurface. These projects will support DOE’s Carbon Storage Research Program by improving characterization and prediction of subsurface fluid movement and enhancing real-time measurement of critical subsurface properties.   

To view a full list of selected projects and their descriptions, click here: https://www.energy.gov/fe/project-descriptions-565m-clean-coal-technologies