Welcome to the Innovations for Existing Plants (IEP) Program’s CO₂ emissions control R&D homepage.  In FY08, the IEP Program redirected its focus to include CO₂ emissions control for existing coal combustion-based plants, e.g. conventional pulverized coal-fired plants.  The focus on CO₂ emissions control technology – both post-combustion and oxy-combustion – and related areas of CO₂ compression and CO₂ beneficial reuse is in direct response to the priority placed on advancing technological options for the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants for addressing climate change.  In addition to funding R&D projects conducted externally, DOE/NETL also conducts in-house research to develop new breakthrough concepts for carbon capture that could lead to dramatic improvements in cost and performance relative to today’s technologies. The IEP CO₂ emissions control R&D activity also sponsors systems analysis studies of the cost and performance of various carbon capture technologies.  The program goal is to develop advanced CO₂ capture and separation technologies for existing power plants that can achieve at least 90% CO₂ removal at no more than a 35% increase in cost of energy services. 

Use the hyperlinks located in the adjacent blue box to find detailed information on the IEP CO₂ emissions control R&D activities.  Information on pre-combustion CO₂ emissions control technology applicable to coal gasification-based (e.g. integrated gasification combined cycle) plants is located at the CO₂ Capture webpage of DOE/NETL’s Carbon Sequestration Program website.

Prior to FY08, DOE/NETL’s CO₂ emissions control R&D effort was conducted under the Carbon Sequestration Program.  With responsibility for existing plant CO₂ emissions control R&D now being conducted under the IEP Program, the Carbon Sequestration Program continues to focus on pre-combustion CO₂ emissions control and geological sequestration.  Since its inception in 1997, the Carbon Sequestration Program has been developing both core and supporting technologies through which carbon capture and storage (CCS) will become an effective and economically viable option for reducing CO₂ emissions from coal-based power plants.  Successful R&D will enable CCS technologies to overcome the various technical, economic, and social challenges, such as cost-effective CO₂ separation and transport, long-term stability of CO₂ sequestration in underground formations, monitoring and verification, integration with power generation systems, and public acceptance.  The Carbon Sequestration Program’s timeline is to demonstrate a portfolio of safe, cost-effective greenhouse gas (GHG) capture, storage, and mitigation technologies at the commercial scale by 2012, leading to substantial deployment and market penetration beyond 2012. 

	DOE/NETL’s Carbon Sequestration Technology Roadmap and Program Plan – April 2007 DOE/NETL’s Monthly Carbon Sequestration Newsletter