Jennifer M. Granholm Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy | Official Website
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced 24 semifinalists for the Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. These semifinalists will receive a total of $1.2 million to advance their carbon dioxide removal technologies. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this initiative allows companies to compete for delivering carbon dioxide removal credits directly to DOE.
"The Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Prize is a first-of-a-kind initiative to catalyze the market for high-quality CO2 removal credits, helping jumpstart a critical decarbonization tool," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "Through this prize and the Administration’s new Policy Statement and Principles on Voluntary Carbon Markets, we are giving the private sector the tools they need to make real contributions to our fight against the climate crisis and deliver real benefits to communities across the nation."
The program aims to develop a market for carbon dioxide removal credits, demonstrating rigorous monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification practices through third-party scientific validation.
The 24 semifinalists will each receive $50,000 to scale various carbon dioxide removal approaches across four pathways:
- Direct air capture with storage: Nine projects focus on capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere for permanent storage.
- Biomass with carbon removal and storage: Seven projects use plants and algae for CO2 removal.
- Enhanced rock weathering and mineralization: Five projects remove CO2 through reactions with alkaline materials.
- Planned or managed carbon sinks: Three projects focus on natural and artificial approaches with durable storage.
These semifinalists were selected by DOE technical experts after evaluating project proposals that included community feedback. In Phase 2 of the prize, they will produce a carbon dioxide removal credit purchase contract with measurement, reporting, verification standards, and commercial terms. Up to ten teams will be chosen as grand prize winners, each receiving up to $3 million.
This announcement is part of DOE's broader Carbon Negative Shot initiative aimed at advancing affordable carbon dioxide removal at scale. The pilot prize complements other DOE programs driving technological innovation in this field.
DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management recently announced plans for a Voluntary Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchasing Challenge to support organizations purchasing high-quality credits from these efforts.
Additional initiatives include Direct Air Capture Hubs, Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Pilots, National Lab development efforts, and co-chairing Mission Innovation’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Launchpad.
The American-Made Direct Air Capture Prizes support technology advancement focusing on community engagement and job creation. This suite includes four competitions aimed at advancing direct air capture technologies from ideas to scalable commercialization.
For more information about these initiatives and prizes, visit the American-Made Challenges website or FECM's website.
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