Clearing the Air: How the DOE is Tackling Carbon Dioxide Removal

The US Department of Energy (DOE) was established in 1977 with two key missions: to carry out defense responsibilities relating to nuclear weapons, and to bring together under one department the "loosely knit amalgamation" of various energy projects which were, at the time, scattered across the United States government. The Department of Energy Organization Act created the Department to better coordinate national energy strategy in the face of new challenges – namely, two OPEC energy crises and the growing nuclear energy industry. Since then, the DOE's responsibilities have evolved with the challenges that the country has faced.

Today, one key dimension of the DOE's role in national energy security is supporting low-carbon energy production and carbon management projects. This role includes advancing Carbon Dioxide Removal, or CDR as the US will likely need to remove at least a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year to meet its net-zero goals. We spoke with Rory Jacobson, the acting division director for Carbon Dioxide Removal in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, or FECM to better understand the DOE's role in advancing CDR.