Wyoming Announces Partnership with Center for Carbon Removal

WIA   10-10-17

With the goal of advancing carbon technology through effective research and development, the state of Wyoming announced a strategic partnership today with the Center for Carbon Removal.

“The Center for Carbon Removal is excited to partner with Wyoming to drive technology innovation and business development around carbon conversion and profitable re-use,” said Noah Deich, Executive Director of the Center for Carbon Removal. Deich continued, “Wyoming is building the infrastructure to position itself as an engineering and corporate leader in the emerging carbon conversion industry, which can drive climate-smart economic growth.”

“Constructing the Integrated Test Center was only the first step in Wyoming’s long term efforts to advance carbon technologies,” said Jason Begger, Executive Director of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority. “Joining the Carbon Recycling Labs initiative will help fill the pipeline of technologies that can test at the ITC and not only push technology development, but provide the resources and capital necessary to develop a carbon utilization industry in Wyoming.”

The Wyoming Infrastructure Authority (WIA) and the Center for Carbon Removal entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) this week to formally establish a framework for the two entities to work cooperatively to create and develop a carbon recycling and usage industry both within and outside the state of Wyoming. Through this cooperative relationship, the WIA will join and serve on the Advisory Board for the Center’s “Carbon Recycling Labs” project.

Matt Rogers, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Nest, startup investor, and board member at the Center for Carbon Removal, was also excited about the partnership, saying, “the transition to a zero carbon economy will require significant new businesses to be created. This partnership is an exciting next step to increase investment opportunities in the carbon conversion space and create those vital job creating opportunities.”

The announcement regarding the MOU was made today during the WIA’s fall meeting in Jackson. Wyoming State Treasurer Mark Gordon gave a presentation on Wyoming’s Investment Strategy before joining Deich, Begger and Rogers in announcing the MOU.

“By pooling resources, connecting talent and working collaboratively, the state of Wyoming and the Center for Carbon Removal can help make significant gains in expediting commercial applications for carbon,” said Wyoming State Treasurer Mark Gordon. “Wyoming is positioned to become the world leader in game-changing carbon technologies that will not only ensure the future of our vast natural resources, but generate new opportunities, new business and new jobs for our local communities.”

The five-year long MOU will enable Carbon Recycling Lab teams to utilize the Wyoming Integrated Test Center, a public-private partnership that will provide space for researchers to test Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) technologies using actual coal based flue gas from the Dry Fork Station near Gillette. The ITC is slated to be one of a handful of such facilities around the world and only the second one in the United States. The ITC will allow for real world testing at an active power plant and alleviates typical concerns over being able to transfer technology from a lab to a plant.

The Center for Carbon Removal is a non-partisan, non-profit organization, working to clean up carbon pollution from the air. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies work to capture excess carbon in the atmosphere and store it in the earth (e.g. in ecosystems, soils, building materials, and underground geologic formations). Their mission is to accelerate the development of scalable, sustainable, economically viable carbon removal solutions. 

The WIA is an instrumentality of the State of Wyoming. The entity was created in 2004 by the Wyoming State Legislature and plays a vital role in supporting, advocating, monitoring, and promoting Wyoming’s energy resources. The WIA works to diversify and expand the state’s economy by adding value to Wyoming’s energy resources and infrastructure for the benefit of Wyoming and the region.