Colorado School of Mines in Golden and Carbon TerraVault Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Long Beach-based California Resources Corp., have been awarded $8.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for a Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) project in California. The funding will support a feasibility study on the CTV III CO2 Storage Project, an underground carbon storage reservoir in San Joaquin County, Calif., which aims to store up to 71 million metric tons (MT) of carbon emissions.
The CarbonSAFE Initiative, established by the DOE in 2016, is designed to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) by addressing key gaps in the implementation of commercial-scale projects. It aligns with the California Air Resources Board’s Scoping Plan, which sets targets of 20 million MT of CO2 removal/capture by 2030 and 100 million MT by 2045.
CarbonSAFE projects encompass various analysis phases, including Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage Pre-Feasibility, Storage Complex Feasibility, Site Characterization and Permitting and Injection Construction. The goal is to enhance project screening, site selection, characterization, baseline monitoring, verification and accounting procedures, along with necessary information for permit applications.
“With this CarbonSAFE grant, Mines is excited to actively participate with the industry and the DOE to provide real time solutions to climate change,” said Ali Tura, professor of geophysics and the co-director of the Reservoir Characterization Project at Mines. “Sequestering CO2 into the deep subsurface versus releasing it all into the atmosphere is a long-term solution to sustainable human development. This project will evaluate a deep saline reservoir for greenhouse waste gas CO2 disposal.”
The CTV III CO2 Storage Project will also include a Community Benefits Plan focusing on developing or expanding partnerships with labor, community organizations and academic institutions to provide benefits to local communities in the region. The project is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is set to run from August 2024 through August 2026, with a total award value of $11,158,273.