The US Department of Energy may cut hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to two carbon capture projects in Texas and Louisiana, which aim to develop technology for capturing carbon from the atmosphere at commercial scale.
The projects, part of a Biden-era effort to slash US greenhouse gas emissions, were launched by the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. At full operation, they could remove over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year, more than the world’s biggest operating carbon capture plant in Iceland.
However, the two largest hubs – Louisiana’s Project Cypress and the South Texas DAC Hub – are on a list of Biden-era programs targeted for elimination to fund tax cuts in Congress’s budget reconciliation bill. The projects have received only their first tranche of $50 million each so far.
Energy Department officials said they are conducting a department-wide review to ensure programs align with the Trump administration’s priorities. However, sources close to the matter say that if funding is cut, the projects cannot continue and may not survive even two more months without it.
Louisiana state officials have turned up pressure on the Energy Department to secure funding for their DAC hub, urging Secretary Chris Wright to take necessary steps to advance the project.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-carbon-removal-hub-funding-may-face-energy-department-cuts-sources-say-2025-03-28