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DOE Awards $25M to Gas Industry

THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020


Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would be awarding nearly $25 million in federal funding for cost-shared projects that aimed to promote advances in technology development for the natural gas industry.

The Department selected 16 projects that will be funded by its Office of Fossil Energy.

“This Administration is committed to providing cost-effective, responsible technologies to advance natural gas operations across the United States,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette.

“With the U.S. positioned as the world’s top producer of natural gas, DOE is proud to be a global leader in gas technology R&D. These projects will further our impressive growth in this field, growing our economy and jobs, while finding new solutions to continue lowering our energy-related emissions.”

About the Projects

According to the DOE, the projects were selected to help develop tools, methods, and technologies that will cost-effectively enhance the safety and efficiency of natural gas production, gathering, storage and transmission infrastructure.

Ron and Patty Thomas / Getty Images
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would be awarding nearly $25 million in federal funding for cost-shared projects that aimed to promote advances in technology development for the natural gas industry.
Ron and Patty Thomas / Getty Images

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that it would be awarding nearly $25 million in federal funding for cost-shared projects that aimed to promote advances in technology development for the natural gas industry.

When selecting the projects to receive funding, the Department looked at three areas of interest (AOI), specifically involving emission mitigation, upcycling and methane detection.

Projects chosen under AOI 1: Advanced Technologies to Mitigate Emissions from and Increase the Efficiency of Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure, include:

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  • Low-Cost Retrofit Kit for Integral Reciprocating Compressors to Reduce Emissions and Enhance Efficiency – Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma). This project has received $1,488,391 in funding from the DOE;
  • Reduction of Methane Leaks through Corrosion Mitigation Pre-Treatments for Pipelines with Field-Applied Coatings – DNV GL USA, Inc (Katy, Texas). This project has received $1,499,980 in funding from the DOE;
  • Methane Mitigation Using Linear Motor Leak Recovery Compressor – Institute of Gas Technology dba Gas Technology Institute (Des Plaines, Illinois). This project received $1,499,920 in funding from the DOE;
  • Solid-State Mixed-Potential Electrochemical Sensors for Natural Gas Leak Detection and Quality Control – University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico). This project received $1.5 million from the DOE in project funding;
  • Predictive Self-Healing Seals for Gas Transmission – University of Tulsa (Tulsa, Oklahoma). This project received $954,856 in federal funding; and
  • Methane Mitigator: Development of a Scalable Vent Mitigation Strategy to Simultaneously Reduce Methane Emissions and Fuel Consumption from the Compression Industry – West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia). This project received $1,498,405 in funds from the DOE.

Projects chosen under AOI 2: Process-Intensified Technologies for the Upcycling of Flare Gas into Transportable, Value-Added Products, were split into two categories. The first of the AIO 2A: Multifunction Catalyst awarded projects included:

  • Modular System for Direct Conversion of Methane into Methanol via Photocatalysis – Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford, California). This project received $1 million in funding;
  • Electrocatalytically Upgrading Methane to Benzene in a Highly Compacted Microchannel Protonic Ceramic Membrane Reactor – Clemson University (Clemson, South Carolina). This project received $1 million in funding;
  • Core-Shell Oxidative Aromatization Catalysts for Single Step Liquefaction of Distributed Shale Gas – North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina). This project received $999,971 in federal funding;
  • Isolated Single-Metal Atoms Supported on Silica for One-Step Non-Oxidative Methane Upgrading to Hydrogen and Value-Added Hydrocarbons – University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland). This project received $1 million in funding;
  • Process Intensification by a One-Step, Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Liquid Chemicals from Light Hydrocarbons – University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana). This project received $1 million in funding; and
  • Methane Partial Oxidation over Multifunctional 2-D Materials – University of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina). This project received $1 million in funding.

AOI 2B: Modular Equipment and PI Design Concepts for Conversion of Flare Gas to High-Value Carbon Products awarded projects include:

Modern Safety Techniques
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  • Gas to Carbon Fiber Crystals (G2-CFX) – Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (PARC) (Palo Alto, California). This project was awarded $2,818,376;
  • Modular Processing of Flare Gas for Carbon Nanoproducts – The Regents of the University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado). This project was awarded $3 million; and
  • Microwave Catalysis for Process Intensified Modular Production of Carbon Nanomaterials from Natural Gas – West Virginia Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia). This project was also awarded $3 million.

Lastly, the DOE awarded one project under AOI 3: Advanced Methane Detection and Measurement Technology Validation. The awarded project was: Accelerating Natural Gas Leak Detection and Quantification Solutions Through Transparent and Rigorous Scientific Validation – Colorado State University (Fort Collins, Colorado). The project received $1,499,949 in federal funding.

“All of these developing tools and technologies have transformative potential,” said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg. “From mitigating emissions to converting flare gas into value-added products, they are vital to ensuring that America can continue to safely and efficiently use our vast fossil energy resources.”

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Tarps manufacturing, Inc.

To view full descriptions of each project, visit energy.gov.

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Tagged categories: Awards and honors; Government; Infrastructure; Oil and Gas; Program/Project Management; Research and development; U.S. Department of Energy


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