The Department of Energy has announced it will spend $3.7 billion to "kick-start America's carbon dioxide removal industry." While most climate policy discussions focus on how to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions, this initiative is focused on how to remove greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere.
One of the most promising and significant parts of the announcement is the embrace of technology-inducement prizes. From the release:
- Direct Air Capture Commercial and Pre-Commercial Prize – DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) is announcing the Direct Air Capture Prize for support and prize awards totaling $115 million to promote diverse approaches to direct air capture. The Direct Air Capture Pre-Commercial Prize provides up to $15 million in prizes to incubate and accelerate research and development of breakthrough direct air capture technologies. The Direct Air Capture Commercial Prize provides up to $100 million in prizes to qualified direct air capture facilities for capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Read the full Direct Air Capture Prize Competitions announcement here.
