Scaling Up Carbon Dioxide Storage to Achieve a Net-Zero Future

To achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury, the United States will need to capture, transport, and permanently store hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

This will require developing the infrastructure and management practices to store large quantities of CO2 at multiple locations within specific geological basins, often spanning regions, crossing state boundaries, and including state, federal, and tribal lands.

To support these efforts, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) established the Carbon Basin Assessment and Storage Evaluation (CarbonBASE) Initiative.

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This initiative aims to collect subsurface data from basins across the United States and develop a robust set of tools for rapid and effective site screening, advanced site characterization and development, and improved basin-scale storage resource monitoring and management.

Additionally, FECM is collaborating with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to inform relevant regulatory guidelines, conduct basin-scale assessments, and develop models for managing CO2 storage resources on federal land and offshore areas.

In February 2024, FECM and DOI’s U.S. Geological Survey hosted a Basin Scale Issues for Carbon Management Workshop, bringing together 70 participants from multiple federal agencies, state government agencies, industry, academia, and research organizations.

The workshop gathered individual input from a diverse group of stakeholders to inform potential research and development needs for the CarbonBASE Initiative and to help DOI develop models for managing CO2 storage on federal land and offshore resources.

During the workshop, attendees discussed opportunities and technological innovations needed for scaling up CO2 storage in basins. A “Basin Scale Issues for Carbon Storage Workshop Report” was subsequently released to provide a more detailed overview of discussions and set priorities for advancing basin-scale CO2 storage.

Several key themes emerged, highlighting the critical needs for accurate measurements of in-situ fluid pressure, a better understanding of carbon storage resources, and improved decision-making paradigms.

Key Insights from the Workshop

• Obtain accurate measurements of in-situ fluid pressure (i.e., pore pressure) and its evolution across a basin to ensure the safe and efficient use of basin-scale storage resources.

• Enhance the understanding of basin-scale carbon storage resources and gather information needed for managing multiple projects within a single basin.

• Expand the availability and organization of publicly available data to improve transparency and decision-making.

• Develop and implement infrastructure for monitoring subsurface carbon storage resources at both basin and regional scales.

• Create decision-making paradigms for project-siting, leasing, and permitting to ensure the efficient use of basin-scale storage resources.

• Manage the impact of subsurface energy and storage activities within the basin as geologic CO2 storage expands.

• Leverage opportunities provided by other subsurface activities to collect CO2 storage-relevant characterization and monitoring data from various basins.

Moving forward, these insights and recommendations from the workshop and report will be crucial in guiding the development of technologies and strategies needed for basin-scale CO2 storage.

By building strong partnerships across the government, industry, and academia, the United States can ensure that it has the tools, data, and resources it needs to achieve a clean energy and industrial future.

Download the Basin Scale Issues for Carbon Storage Workshop Report to learn more.

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