Introduction:
The purpose of this RFI is to solicit input for a potential future ARPA-E research program focused on technologies to prevent and/or abate methane emissions. The goal is to reverse the rate of accumulation of methane in the atmosphere, resulting in a decrease in atmospheric methane concentration. ARPA-E is seeking information at this time regarding transformative and implementable technologies that could:
(a) Prevent methane emissions from anthropogenic activities. Examples include addressing improperly abandoned coal mines and oil and gas wells; plugged oil and gas wells that leak; uncontrolled landfill gas; and agricultural-related emissions from farming and ruminants.Emphasis will be on preventing energy-related emissions, but ARPA-E is interested in approaches that could be broadly applied which intervene before methane escapes into the atmosphere.
(b) Abate methane emissions at the source (stack, vents, leaks, etc.).Sources may have steady or variable flow rates and/or concentration.Source temperatures may range from ambient to elevated (i.e. >200 C).System-level approaches are encouraged (i.e. integrated methane collection/capture, reactor, and monitoring/control system).
(c) Remove methane from the air. Examples include approaches which enhance methane oxidation reactions in the troposphere, mineralization (i.e. biological oxidation of methane to CO2) in soils, or recover methane for use as a fuel or chemical reactant.
Note that some approaches may fit several categories. For example, biological enhancement of methanotropes could be used to prevent methane emissions from coal mines, abate emissions from leaks, and remove methane from air. Priority is oxidation of methane to CO2. Technologies that recover or beneficially use methane will need to show ability to address at least 1 billion standard cubic feet/yr economically.
ARPA-E is interested in processes that reduce methane emissions by >90% on a life-cycle basis. Inputs, including energy and water, need to be quantified. The performance metrics for cost[1] and water inputs[2] are intended to allow comparison of methane prevention and abatement processes to CO2 control processes. Performance targets include:
a) Net greenhouse gas reduction >90% based on a lifecycle analysis, calculated using 100 year greenhouse gas warming potentials for all relevant species.
b) Freshwater consumption <3 m3/ton CO2 equivalent
c) Methane reduction cost $150/ton CO2 equivalent
d) No emission of toxic or environmentally harmful substances
Please carefully review the REQUEST FOR INFORMATION GUIDELINES. Please note, in particular, that the information you provide will be used by ARPA-E solely for program planning, without attribution. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA). NO FOA EXISTS AT THIS TIME.
Purpose and Need for Information
The purpose of this RFI is solely to solicit input for ARPA-E consideration to inform the possible formulation of future research programs. ARPA-E will not provide funding or compensation for any information submitted in response to this RFI, and ARPA-E may use information submitted to this RFI without any attribution to the source. This RFI provides the broad research community with an opportunity to contribute views and opinions.
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION GUIDELINES
No material submitted for review will be returned and there will be no formal or informal debriefing concerning the review of any submitted material. ARPA-E may contact respondents to request clarification or seek additional information relevant to this RFI. All responses provided will be considered, but ARPA-E will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. Respondents should clearly mark any information in the response to this RFI that might be considered proprietary or confidential. Information marked proprietary or confidential will protected from public release by DOE to the maximum extent permitted by law, such as Exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act.
Depending on the responses to this RFI, ARPA‐E may consider the rapid initiation of one or more funded collaborative projects to accelerate along the path towards commercial deployment of the energy technologies described generally above.
Responses to this RFI should be submitted in PDF format to the email address ARPA-E-RFI@hq.doe.gov by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on October 15, 2020. Emails should conform to the following guidelines:
- Please insert “Responses for Methane Prevention and Abatement RFI” in the subject line of your email, and include your name, title, organization, type of organization (e.g. university, non-governmental organization, small business, large business, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), government-owned/government-operated (GOGO), etc.), email address, telephone number, and area of expertise in the body of your email.
- Responses to this RFI are limited to no more than 10 pages in length (12-point font size).
- Responders are strongly encouraged to include preliminary results, data, and figures that describe their potential processes.
[1] https://netl.doe.gov/projects/files/CostandPerformanceofBituminousCoalandNGPlantswithCCSRev4_091020.pdf
[2] Rosa, L., et al. Nat Sustain 3, 658–666 (2020).