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Carbon sequestration is one of the most promising ways for reducing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In fact, even under the most optimistic scenarios for energy efficiency gains and the greater use of low- or no-carbon fuels, sequestration will likely be essential if the world is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at acceptable levels.
The Office of Fossil Energy (FE), through research conducted at the National Energy Technology Laboratory is transforming the fundamental science of carbon sequestration into a portfolio of practical, affordable and safe technologies and mitigation strategies that the energy industry can use to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. One example of new technologies in development by DOE is the FutureGen project - an initiative to build the world's first integrated sequestration and hydrogen production research power plant.
Microbes and plants play substantial roles in the global cycling of carbon through the environment. The Office of Science’s Biological and Environmental Research program continues to leverage new genomic DNA sequence information on microbes important to the global carbon cycle by characterizing key biochemical pathways or genetic regulatory networks in these microbes. Research in genomics and biological and environmental research are conducted at the universities and national laboratories supported by the Office of Science.
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