The U.S. Department of Energy has set a third target under its Energy Earthshots Initiative – the Carbon Negative Shot. The new goal under this Carbon Negative Shot is to eliminate gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it for less than $100 per ton of net CO2-equivalent. The new Carbon Negative Shot is the government’s first major effort in carbon dioxide removal (CDR).
The US will accelerate innovation in CDR and formulate place-based approaches to meet the requirements of the communities, which will participate in the initiative or be affected by CDR. The DOE will engage with the communities and other stakeholders, including tribal nations, labor groups, climate justice organizations, academic, and industry.
The government has outlined four performance elements under focus through the Carbon Negative Shot, namely:
· Reducing the cost of CDR at less than $100/net metric ton CO2-equivalent for capture and storage
· Accounting of the lifecycle emissions
· High-quality and durable storage with costs estimated for verification, reporting and monitoring for 100 years
· Facilitating gigaton-scale removal
Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “By slashing the costs and accelerating the deployment of carbon dioxide removal — a crucial clean energy technology — we can take massive amounts of carbon pollution directly from the air and combat the climate crisis. With our Carbon Negative Shot, we can help remove the greenhouse gases already warming our planet and affecting our health—positioning America as a net-zero leader and creating good-paying jobs for a transitioning clean energy workforce. The combination of the Carbon Negative Shot with our massive investments in hydrogen, battery storage, renewables and decarbonized fossil energy, can make net-zero emissions a reality here and abroad.”
