The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a substantial $41 million investment in 14 projects to propel the development of Renewables-to-Liquids (RtL) technology, leveraging renewable resources such as wind and solar to produce liquid fuels. These fuels are vital for sustainable transportation and can be transported and stored as easily as traditional fuels, like gasoline or oil.
BRITE member Heatpath Solutions was among the awardees, receiving $4,000,000 to support its innovative work. Their project involves developing a new method to synthesize methanol that works dynamically with intermittent electricity from renewables. This approach aims to facilitate on-site production and collection of methanol from modular reactors operating at modest temperatures and pressures, sketching a promising future for renewable energy utilization and storage.
The broader impact of this funding is substantial as it aligns with the United States’ quest for energy independence and further proves the Department of Energy’s commitment to finding and harnessing new technologies. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm emphasized the larger vision behind these endeavors: “Renewables-to-liquids fuel production has the potential to boost the utility of renewable energy all while helping to lay the groundwork for the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating a clean energy economy.”
This initiative is managed through ARPA-E’s GREENWELLS program and is pioneering in its support for RtL approaches in creating liquid fuels. It’s set to catalyze a wave of advancements aiming to store at least 50% of incoming intermittent electrical energy in carbon-containing liquids — a big leap towards reducing emissions from tough-to-decarbonize sectors like transportation and achieving lower costs for low-carbon fuels.
Read the announcement from ARPA-E here.
