Resource Efficiency

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) aims to develop a highly efficient sorbent material and MSA process for direct air capture of CO2, leveraging PARC's novel aerogel chemistry incorporating quaternary ammonium cation groups to reversibly adsorb CO2 with changes in humidity. The new material and process will substantially improve the capital and operating costs of CO2 capture through reduced materials and process costs as well as enhanced sorbent performance.

To use EGS as an unlimited renewable energy source, Eden will develop a new class of hydraulic fracturing methods to create fluid pathways for water to be heated and extracted for power production. Eden’s new “Electro-Hydraulic Fracturing” (E-HF) technology will use electricity and water to access a more extensive fracture network for heat recovery. This E-HF process will increase the heat transfer surface area for the water circulating through fractures, improving EGS power plant efficiency up to 500%.

Dimensional Energy will apply additive manufacturing (AM) of large-scale ceramics to 3D print a reactor that will efficiently convert greater than 70% of CO2 and green H2 into synthetic gas (syngas), which may be used to produce synthetic aviation fuel. The high carbon utilization and energy efficiencies of the reactor will be coupled with inexpensive renewable electricity and green electrolysis-produced H2 to enable syngas production. Further processing will yield sustainable aviation fuel and other sustainable fuels and chemicals.

Developed by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the AMENDER project presents a transformative approach for CDR that exploits the ocean-atmosphere equilibrium of CO2 and enormous abundance of divalent alkaline cations in seawater. These attributes are leveraged electrochemically by flowing seawater through mechanically regenerable electrode surfaces. The minerals formed trap CO2 durably in dissolved and/or solid forms. The decarbonated seawater is then capable of absorbing more atmospheric CO2. Water’s alkalization also generates hydrogen (H2), a clean fuel.

Precision Combustion (PCI) proposes an innovative modular array to eliminate the release of ventilation air methane (VAM) associated with coal production. The team’s technology combines (1) a short contact time, low thermal mass reactor design to achieve high methane conversion in a small volume, (2) catalyst formulation and loading to minimize the required operating temperature of the oxidation reactor, and (3) system design and architecture to maximize the degree to which released heat is retained and recirculated.

The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) will develop a novel electrochemical process for electrochemically synthesizing C2+ alcohols, i.e., ethanol and propanol from captured CO2, at high rates in a laboratory-scale zero-gap flow electrolyzer. The IIT team will study the effects of flue gas composition and operating conditions on the reaction kinetics parameters and mass transport rate of the flue-gas-based CO2 reduction reaction.

Foro Energy will use a downhole, high-power laser access tool to create geometric and surface area access in wells to set an alternative barrier material—a bismuth alloy plug (BiSN)—instead of cement.

The University of Houston aims to develop Miniaturized Pulsed Power System (Mini-PulPS) architectures to improve the power density (with 10-X reduction in capacitor size) and the life of converters used in pulsed power supplies. The University of Houston will perform multi-disciplinary research with Harvard University and Schlumberger-Doll Research Center for high- and low-power NMR applications. These technologies will improve the power converter system efficiency and reliability and reduce the risks of equipment or formation failures.

Nokia will reuse the heat energy AI workloads produce while delivering digital services to supply high quality thermal energy that can be used directly for building heating, cooling, and/or thermal energy storage. The proposed technology will pursue a low-cost, passive, ultra-reliable, high-performance, two-phase cooling philosophy from chip to room scale. The team will rearchitect the computing infrastructure for secondary use as a valuable heat source in heat reuse applications with minimal supporting infrastructure.