GreenFire Energy Inc. announced that the California Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub has been awarded $11.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under its Regional DAC Hubs Initiative related to the proposed development of California’s first full-scale DAC plus storage (DAC+S) network of regional hubs. Carbon TerraVault Holdings, LLC (CTV), a subsidiary of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC), had assembled a consortium of organizations to pursue the DOE funding. GreenFire Energy Inc. is a member of the California DAC Hub consortium and will provide its GreenFire’s GreenLoop™(“GreenLoop”) technology. The California DAC Hub DAC+S is a solution that is intended to remove and then permanently store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) using low carbon emission energy and provide economic benefits to surrounding communities. This first DOE award will be used to perform Front End Engineering Design (FEED) studies in 2024 on the proposed DAC facilities in Kern County, followed up with additional funding requests and planned development and construction potentially beginning in 2025.

The California DAC Hub is being led by CTV Direct, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CTV focused exclusively on DAC+S; Kern Community College District (KernCCD), the community benefits plan lead; and EPRI, a non-profit energy research and development institute. The California DAC Hub consortium is comprised of approximately 40 organizations from across industry, community, tribes, government, technology, national labs, academia, labor, and workforce development. The California DAC Hub is expected to help accelerate the Golden State’s climate leadership and achieve its carbon neutrality goal. It also plans to prioritize surrounding under-represented California communities through transformative benefits potentially including:

Helping optimize the use of renewable energy
Utilization of reclaimed water and/or production of new water
Quality union jobs in construction and low carbon energy technologies
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and energy transition education programs

The California DAC Hub consortium is pursuing funding to develop a network of DAC+S hubs across the state under the DOE’s Regional DAC Hubs Initiative, as outlined under the $3.5 billion Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), to accelerate the commercialization of atmospheric CO2 removal via integrated capture, processing, transport, and secure permanent geologic storage. CO2 from DAC+S hubs will not be used for enhanced oil recovery. Key to the success of the California DAC Hub will be strong relationships with diverse community stakeholders to develop an equitable, just, and environmentally responsible approach to the project.

The first hub is planned to launch in Kern County, California, and the consortium will look to expand to other locations across the state. Each hub is expected to provide tangible energy transition benefits to surrounding communities, such as high-paying and permanent jobs and workforce development programs for this cutting-edge industry, to help California progress toward its 2030 and 2045 carbon removal goals.

“GreenFire Energy Inc. is proud to be part of the California DAC Hub. There is tremendous interest in GreenFire’s GreenLoop™ closed-loop technology and we have extensive patents on the technology in the U.S. and worldwide. Using GreenLoop technology with other technologies to provide clean, continuous, and reliable energy to direct air capture is an innovative model for energy transition. California is our home state, and we are committed to decarbonize, bring jobs, and provide economic benefits to local communities,” said Steven Brown, vice president project development, GreenFire Energy Inc.

Led by CTV Direct, KernCCD and EPRI, the California DAC Hub consortium includes the following organizations and may expand as appropriate based on further community engagement and future regional hub locations:

Industry – Accenture, AECOM, Bloom Energy, Brookfield Renewable, Carbon TerraVault, EPRI, GeothermEx, GreenFire Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Sage Geosystems, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)
Technology – Avnos and Climeworks
Academia – Bakersfield College, CSUB, Taft College, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Carbon Management
National Labs – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Community – African American Network of Kern County (AANKC), B3K Prosperity, Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), Grandma Whoople Enterprises, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, KernCCD, Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (KCHCC), Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), National Impact Mentoring and Training Program (NIMTP), The Open Door Network, Tejon Indian Tribe, and the West Side Recreation & Park District
Government – City of Bakersfield, Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), and the West Kern Water District (WKWD)
Labor – Employers’ Training Resource (ETR), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) – Local 428; International Union of Operating Engineers – Local 12, Kern, Inyo, Mono Counties Building Trades Council, and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC)

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