Release Date: May 29, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $61 million to fund the third phase of the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) that will attempt to determine if large quantities of carbon dioxide can be safely and permanently stored deep underground instead of being released into the atmosphere.

The MRCSP is one of seven such partnerships in the DOE’s Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership

(RCSP).  The RCSP represents a concerted effort toward building the scientific and institutional foundation for carbon sequestration that will help allow the continued use of the affordable fossil fuels needed to support the region’s economy, while at the same time addressing climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere from fossil fuel-fired processes.

The MRCSP is a collaborating group of more than 35 members from eight states (Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia), state geologic survey organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations, state government organizations, and many of the leading energy companies operating in the region.  The partnership is led by Columbus-based Battelle.

In addition to DOE funding, MRSCP members will contribute nearly $32 million as cost share for the Phase III project, bringing the total value to just under $93 million. The Ohio Coal Development Office, which operates within the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, is the largest funding contributor to MRCSP other than the DOE.
 
The new research will be implemented over a 10-year period and builds on the previous two phases that started in 2003.  Don McConnell, President of Battelle’s Energy Technology Global Business, said the process of storing carbon dioxide underground, known as sequestration, is an important part of an overall strategy for mitigating carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.  “Carbon sequestration is a promising technology for reducing the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” McConnell said.  “By helping to increase our knowledge of how it works in a real-world setting, we can do our part in helping find a solution to climate change.”

A focal point of the Phase III project is to demonstrate permanent storage of carbon dioxide in deep geologic formations at a scale much larger than the MRCSP field validation tests underway across the region as part of the current Phase II effort.  This form of carbon storage is part of a technology called carbon capture and geologic storage, or CCS.
 
In CCS, carbon dioxide is first captured in a relatively pure form from a coal-fired power plant, ethanol plant or other large stationary industrial source.  It then is compressed to increase its density, thus reducing the needed storage volume.  The compressed carbon dioxide next is injected into geologic formations such as sandstone or other porous layers that are at least 2,500 feet deep so it is well away from drinking water supplies.

The injection sites must also have an overlying, dense cap rock or seal that prevents the carbon dioxide from filtering back up to the surface.

The MRCSP project intends to inject approximately one million tons of carbon dioxide over a four-year period.  The carbon dioxide will be obtained from an ethanol production facility located in Greenville, Ohio that is owned by The Andersons Marathon Ethanol, LLC, a joint venture between The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq:ANDE) and Marathon Petroleum Company LLC (NYSE:MRO).

At the Greenville site, the carbon dioxide would be injected into the Mount Simon Sandstone, which is more than 3,000 feet beneath the surface in the area around the injection site.  The Mount Simon Sandstone stretches across much of the Midwest region and has the potential to store more than 100 years of carbon dioxide emissions from major point sources in the region.
 
The purpose of this project is to validate that the injection and storage of carbon dioxide can be done safely, permanently, and economically.  During the next two years, the MRCSP team will conduct site characterization, design of the CO2 handling, injection and monitoring systems.  After that, preparation of information required for needed regulatory permits will be generated.

An optional site that is a possible source of carbon dioxide for the third phase of the project is an electric generating plant, known as an “integrated gasification combined cycle” (IGCC) power plant, to be located near Edwardsport, Indiana.  The power plant is currently being developed by Duke Energy.  As part of its regional mapping efforts, MRCSP scientists plan to conduct a site characterization to evaluate the geologic sequestration potential in the area surrounding the plant.  Proceeding to the injection phase at this site as a part of MRCSP Phase III would be contingent on approval of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) and US DOE.

The MRCSP will communicate with community leaders and members of the general public living near the sites as well as with other stakeholders throughout the region to provide information on the project and the technology as Phase III proceeds.

In addition to the large scale geologic demonstration to be undertaken in Phase III, the MRCSP research team will continue its research on mapping the geologic layers across MRCSP region for storage potential, grading the potential for increased carbon uptake in terrestrial ecosystems and evaluating the infrastructure needs for implementation of sequestration technologies in the region.
 
As part of the ongoing Phase II effort, MRCSP also will complete the smaller-scale geologic field validation injection tests already underway at locations in Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Battelle is the world’s largest non-profit independent research and development organization, providing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing needs through its four global businesses:  Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences.  It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $4 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization.  Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,400 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including seven national laboratories which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Battelle also is one of the nation’s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education.

For more information, visit www.battelle.org or contact Media Relations Specialist T.R. Massey at masseytr@battelle.org or (614) 424-5544.