House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
Energy Subcommittee Environment Subcommittee
Evaluating the Potential of Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Approaches
The purpose of this hearing is to explore the benefits and risks of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approaches as they relate to carbon capture and sequestration. In addition, this hearing will inform members on research and development of this technology and address scientific gaps and deficiencies facing researchers and scientists today.
Witnesses:- Noah Deich, Senior Advisor, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, U.S. Department of Energy
- Dr. Sarah Kapnick, Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Ben Tarbell, CEO and Co-Founder, Ebb Carbon
- Dr. Scott Doney, Joe D. and Helen J. Kington Professor in Environmental Change, The University of Virginia
The ocean is the Earth’s largest carbon sink, holding 42 times the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is in the atmosphere and absorbing 25% of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions each year. Global atmospheric carbon reduction efforts have led scientists to try to enhance the ocean’s natural sequestration abilities by developing mCDR techniques. Leveraging the ocean can help diversify the range of carbon dioxide removal approaches, reducing the pressure on land-based approaches.1 Marine CDR can also have non-carbon environmental benefits, such as reducing ocean acidification, replenishing ecosystems, and providing jobs. However, most mCDR techniques have not been tested at scale, and a few are at the earliest stages of research. Dedicated resources, including streamlined permitting, to enable research will help clarify the uncertainties associated with mCDR.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is home to the Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), established to better understand impacts of ocean acidification and adaptation. In May 2023, the program, in collaboration with the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, published their paper Strategy for NOAA Carbon Dioxide Removal Research: A White Paper documenting a potential NOAA CDR Science Strategy as an element of NOAA’s Climate Interventions Portfolio. In September 2023, OAP announced $23.4 million in funding for public and private research in mCDR, with a focus on understanding uncertainties and filling knowledge gaps for different mCDR approaches. These awards support 17 projects with partners from 47 institutions to further enhance efficiency of marine research and provide NOAA with funding and information sharing opportunities to advance mCDR development.
The Department of Energy (DOE) supports mCDR as a key technology development area. It is a central component of DOE’s Carbon Negative Shot — calling for innovation in CDR pathways that can capture CO2 and store it at gigaton scales for less than $100/net metric ton of CO2-equivalent. In October 2023, DOE announced $36 million for 11 projects across 8 states, funneled through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E) Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA-CO2) program, to accelerate the development of mCDR technologies. The focus of the projects receiving these funds is to advance sensing and modeling techniques that more accurately measure the impacts of mCDR technologies. Supported projects include development of fiber optic sensor cables, micro-electronic seafloor probes, and ocean carbon flux monitoring. If successful, SEA-CO2 measurement, reporting, and verification technology innovations will ensure that the quantity and quality of emission removals are correctly valued.