April 05, 2023
Charleston,
WV —
Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, announced approximately $40,000,000 from the U.S.
Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) for
the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) research site in Morgantown,
West Virginia. The funding was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act and
is part of a larger $150,000,000 investment to support site-wide infrastructure
and laboratory modernization upgrades at all three national NETL sites.
“The Inflation
Reduction Act continues to deliver for West Virginia and the entire
country. Today’s announcement of $150 million for DOE’s three NETL sites,
including approximately $40 million for the Morgantown location, will support
cutting-edge technology projects and boost our energy economy,” said
Chairman Manchin. “Investments like this help ensure the Mountain State
continues to be a leader in American energy innovation and create good-paying,
long term energy jobs for West Virginians. I look forward to seeing the positive
impacts of this funding for decades to come.”
Today’s
investment will be used to enhance core strengths at NETL’s three complexes in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Morgantown, West Virginia, and Albany, Oregon,
including:
- Computation,
Data, and Visualization — Investments will be used across all three NETL
sites for improvements to ESNet, DOE’s high-performance, unclassified
network built to support scientific research. The funds will provide
resources for the Geological, Environmental and Materials Computational
and Visualization Laboratory to apply artificial intelligence and machine
learning to visualize and monitor the movement of carbon dioxide stored
underground to address potential challenges for carbon capture and
storage. Investments also will support building a new facility in
Morgantown, which will include innovative collaboration space for the next
level of high-performance computing to accelerate breakthroughs in more
abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions. - Process
Development — Investments in NETL’s Carbon Conversion R&D and Critical
Materials R&D programs will support modernization of laboratory
facilities in Morgantown and Pittsburgh to build in flexibility for these
emerging and mission-critical areas of research and development. - Alloy
Development — Investments in Albany’s Advanced Alloy Development Center
will be used to formulate even more cost-effective, durable metal alloys
to develop cutting-edge energy-producing processes and facilities that can
generate affordable clean energy and support growth in emerging U.S.
industries, such as hydrogen transport and use.
