The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today an allocation of $41 million for 14 projects aimed at developing Renewables-to-Liquids (RtL) technologies. These initiatives seek to harness renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to produce sustainable fuels or chemicals that can be transported and stored as easily as conventional carbon-intensive liquids like gasoline or oil.
"With today’s announcement, the Department of Energy charges forward on its mission of finding and elevating new technologies to ensure that the United States remains innovative and energy independent," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy."
The selected project teams will focus on developing systems that operate at renewable energy production sites, utilizing electricity, carbon dioxide, and water to create renewable fuels or replacements for conventional fuels. This clean energy can then be used across various sectors in the United States, including those that are difficult to decarbonize like transportation.
Currently, low-carbon fuels are priced around $10 per gallon. By using cheaper electricity sources such as wind and solar independently from the grid, producers can achieve lower overall costs.
DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will manage these projects through its Grid-free Renewable Energy Enabling New Ways to Economical Liquids and Long-term Storage (GREENWELLS) program. This marks ARPA-E's first support for RtL approaches aimed at creating liquid fuels with an objective to economically store at least 50% of incoming intermittent electrical energy in carbon-containing liquids.
Selected projects include:
- Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA): Development of an electrochemical reactor responsive to dynamic changes in renewable energy for syngas production via direct air capture systems ($1,970,200).
- HeatPath Solutions (Lewis Center, OH): Creation of a new method for synthesizing methanol dynamically with intermittent renewable electricity using modular reactors ($4,000,000).
- Susteon (Cary, NC): Process development for producing kerosene-range hydrocarbons using carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and renewable electricity aimed at aviation fuel production ($4,999,500).
For a complete list of selected projects click here.
ARPA-E continues its commitment to advancing high-potential clean energy technologies critical to America's energy security. More information about these efforts is available on their website.
Selection for award negotiations does not guarantee funding; DOE may cancel negotiations or rescind selections during this process.
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