U.S. DOE/NETL Carbon Storage Program: Advancing Science and Technology to Support Commercial Deployment

Abstract

Since its inception in 1997, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Carbon Storage Program, managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), has significantly advanced geologic storage science and technology through a diverse portfolio of applied research projects. The Program is focused on developing and advancing technologies that address the overarching technical challenges of geologic storage, with the goal to achieve technology readiness for widespread commercial deployment in the 2025–2035 timeframe. The Program approaches these challenges through integration of the technologies developed in the “Advanced Storage” component of the Program and field tested in the “Storage Infrastructure” component. The Carbon Storage Program is now well positioned to begin feasibility projects on commercial-scale saline storage complexes, building upon almost two decades of knowledge and experience gained from Storage Infrastructure field projects. An early key milestone was the implementation of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (RCSP) Initiative. Experience and knowledge gained from these field projects provide a firm foundation for future larger-scale field projects, either onshore or offshore. Perhaps most importantly, it is only by performing these field projects that the knowledge needed to identify additional subsurface reservoir and operational issues still requiring further research can be acquired.