CRC Headlines Consortium Seeking DAC Hub Funding

California Resources’ (CRC) carbon capture subsidiary Carbon TerraVault is expanding into the direct air capture (DAC) game with the formation of a giant consortium to compete for federal funding to develop a network of DAC and storage hubs.

Under a plan announced Tuesday, the roughly 40-member consortium would pursue funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE), which recently tagged $3.5 billion for the development of four DAC hubs.

The partners include DAC specialists ClimeWorks and Avnos, utilities Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. A couple of geothermal companies are also in the mix: SLB subsidiary GeothermEx and Baker Hughes-backed GreenFire Energy. CRC said the consortium may expand in the future as well.

“It is very exciting that these organizations are working together cross-functionally to not only provide a carbon removal and storage solution but doing so using low-carbon energy and providing economic benefits to California communities,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma. “This project is more than a shared DAC infrastructure project; it serves as a hub model that delivers community benefits and jobs for other parts of the US that also face climate change-induced challenges."

CRC's first planned hub would be centered on Carbon TerraVault’s Elk Hills field carbon capture projects in Kern County, California, according to a presentation. But the consortium is also looking to expand to other locations within the Golden State.

DAC+S

Oil and gas companies are showing greater interest in DAC, with Occidental Petroleum being the furthest along. However, skeptics have questioned the climate benefit of using captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which is what Oxy plans to do, at least initially.

By contrast, Carbon TerraVault is pursuing what it calls DAC+S, a plan to permanently sequester the captured CO2 that will help California achieve its goal to become carbon neutral by 2045, according to a release. The state is aiming to capture or remove 20 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030 and 100 million tons by 2045.

The company has already applied for two Class VI permits to permanently sequester CO2 at Elk Hills, and the environmental review has started. The pair of projects, known as Carbon TerraVault I, together hold 46 million metric tons of storage capacity, according to Carbon Terravault. CRC envisions injecting more than 1 million metric tons per year when the projects are up and running.

In December, Carbon TerraVault agreed to provide transportation and sequestration for a planned "blue" hydrogen facility that would be built in the Elk Hills Field, and in early January it signed a similar deal to provide transportation and storage for CO2 for a proposed hydrogen and ammonia facility near two other sequestration sites in the Sacramento Basin.

The company says it has applied for two Class VI permits to store CO2 underground at its sites in the basin, representing another 94 million metric tons of storage capacity.

CRC is relying on its partners during the application process as well. The Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit member of the consortium, plans on submitting an application to the DOE by the Mar. 13 deadline. Meanwhile, academic partner Kern Community College District is leading work on a community benefits plan.

“We have an unprecedented consortium of project participants who are committed to working together to create DAC+S hubs across the state, accelerate the energy transition and benefit working families throughout our California communities,” CRC CEO Mac McFarland said.