II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1576 To provide for advancements in carbon removal research, quantification, and commercialization, including by harnessing natural processes, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2023 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. KING, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To provide for advancements in carbon removal research, quantification, and commercialization, including by har- nessing natural processes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies 5 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘CREST Act of 2023’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1576 IS Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—CARBON REMOVAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Subtitle A—Biomass Carbon Removal Sec. 101. Biomass carbon removal programs. Sec. 102. Biological carbon dioxide conversion programs. Subtitle B—Geological Carbon Removal Sec. 111. Carbon mineralization pilot projects. Sec. 112. Carbon mineralization resource assessment. Sec. 113. Tailings and waste mineralization program. Subtitle C—Aquatic Carbon Removal Sec. 121. Ocean carbon removal mission. Sec. 122. Direct ocean capture assessment. Sec. 123. Offshore carbon storage program and assessment. Subtitle D—Atmospheric Carbon Removal Sec. 131. Direct air capture technology manufacturing research program. Subtitle E—Carbon Removal Quantification Sec. 141. Carbon removal quantification. TITLE II—CARBON REMOVAL PURCHASING PILOT PROGRAM Sec. 201. Carbon removal purchasing pilot program. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CARBON REMOVAL.—The term ‘‘carbon re- 3 moval’’ means the intentional removal, including by 4 harnessing natural processes, of carbon dioxide di- 5 rectly from the atmosphere or upper hydrosphere 6 and subsequent storage of the carbon dioxide in geo- 7 logical, biobased, or ocean reservoirs or in value- 8 added products that results in a net removal of car- 9 bon dioxide from the atmosphere, as measured on a 10 lifecycle basis. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1576 IS (2) CARBON REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY OR AP- 1 PROACH.—The term ‘‘carbon removal technology or 2 approach’’ includes— 3 (A) direct air capture with durable storage; 4 (B) soil carbon sequestration; 5 (C) biomass carbon removal and storage; 6 (D) enhanced mineralization; 7 (E) ocean-based carbon dioxide removal; 8 and 9 (F) afforestation or reforestation. 10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Energy. 12 TITLE I—CARBON REMOVAL 13 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 14 Subtitle A—Biomass Carbon 15 Removal 16 SEC. 101. BIOMASS CARBON REMOVAL PROGRAMS. 17 (a) OFFICE OF SCIENCE.—Section 306 of the De- 18 partment of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 19 U.S.C. 18644) is amended— 20 (1) by redesignating subsections (k) and (l) as 21 subsections (l) and (m), respectively; and 22 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol- 23 lowing: 24 ‘‘(k) ALGAL BIOMASS CARBON REMOVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1576 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall carry 1 out a research and development program to gain un- 2 derstanding of the underlying biology of algal bio- 3 mass systems and the possible use of algal biomass 4 systems as a means of carbon removal (as defined 5 in section 2 of the Carbon Removal and Emissions 6 Storage Technologies Act of 2023) from the air and 7 aquatic sources. 8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The program carried 9 out under paragraph (1) shall— 10 ‘‘(A) support efforts to reduce long-term 11 technical barriers for algal biomass with carbon 12 capture; and 13 ‘‘(B) coordinate closely with the Bioenergy 14 Technologies Office and the Office of Fossil En- 15 ergy and Carbon Management.’’. 16 (b) OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEW- 17 ABLE ENERGY.—Section 932 of the Energy Policy Act of 18 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16232) is amended— 19 (1) in subsection (b)— 20 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ 21 after the semicolon; 22 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe- 23 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1576 IS ‘‘(7) biological carbon removal (as defined in 1 section 2 of the Carbon Removal and Emissions 2 Storage Technologies Act of 2023).’’; and 3 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 4 lowing: 5 ‘‘(f) BIOLOGICAL CARBON REMOVAL.— 6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF CARBON REMOVAL.—In 7 this subsection, the term ‘carbon removal’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Carbon 9 Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies Act of 10 2023. 11 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the biological car- 12 bon removal program under subsection (b)(7) shall 13 be to develop and deploy, in partnership with indus- 14 try and institutions of higher education— 15 ‘‘(A) improved tools and understanding of 16 feedstocks, supplies, and logistics with respect 17 to carbon removal using biomass sources; 18 ‘‘(B) technologies for the optimized conver- 19 sion of aquatic and terrestrial biomass for car- 20 bon removal; 21 ‘‘(C) cost-competitive carbon capture tech- 22 nologies applied to bioenergy, including— 23 ‘‘(i) algal, terrestrial, and marine bio- 24 mass; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1576 IS ‘‘(ii) biofuels; and 1 ‘‘(iii) bioproducts; and 2 ‘‘(D) applied research on best practices in 3 macroalgae cultivation and phenotype selection, 4 including by carrying out aquatic pilot projects. 5 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—Activities conducted 6 under this subsection shall be coordinated with the 7 relevant programs of the Office of Science, the Of- 8 fice of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, and 9 the Department of Agriculture.’’. 10 (c) OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY AND CARBON MAN- 11 AGEMENT.—Section 962(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 12 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16292(b)) is amended— 13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘performance 14 of’’ and all that follows through the period at the 15 end and inserting the following: ‘‘performance of— 16 ‘‘(A) coal and natural gas use; 17 ‘‘(B) biomass with carbon capture for utili- 18 zation or permanent storage; and 19 ‘‘(C) manufacturing and industrial facili- 20 ties.’’; and 21 (2) in paragraph (3)— 22 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 23 (i) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ 24 after the semicolon; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1576 IS (ii) in clause (vi), by striking the pe- 1 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 2 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(vii) developing advanced boilers to 5 enable net-negative lifecycle carbon emis- 6 sions through co-firing with biomass.’’; and 7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(G) Developing carbon capture tech- 9 nologies applied to bioenergy systems that re- 10 sult in net-negative lifecycle carbon emissions, 11 including— 12 ‘‘(i) biofuels production; 13 ‘‘(ii) bioproducts; 14 ‘‘(iii) biomass used in power systems 15 and industrial applications; and 16 ‘‘(iv) fossil fuel power systems and in- 17 dustrial systems co-fired with biomass.’’. 18 (d) OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEW- 19 ABLE ENERGY.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Independence 21 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17001 et seq.) 22 is amended by striking section 228 (121 Stat. 1535) 23 and inserting the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1576 IS ‘‘SEC. 228. AQUATIC BIOMASS. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bioenergy 2 Technologies Office shall carry out applied research on— 3 ‘‘(1) microalgae and macroalgae cultivation and 4 phenotype selection; and 5 ‘‘(2) optimization of aquatic biomass conversion 6 pathways. 7 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The research carried out 8 under subsection (a) shall support efforts— 9 ‘‘(1) to develop best practices in microalgae and 10 macroalgae cultivation and phenotype selection, in- 11 cluding by carrying out aquatic pilot projects— 12 ‘‘(A) on microalgae and macroalgae; and 13 ‘‘(B) in freshwater and seawater; and 14 ‘‘(2) to optimize aquatic biomass conversion 15 pathways that result in carbon removal (as defined 16 in section 2 of the Carbon Removal and Emissions 17 Storage Technologies Act of 2023) for biopower, 18 biofuels, and other uses. 19 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro- 20 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section— 21 ‘‘(1) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 22 ‘‘(2) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 23 ‘‘(3) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 24 through 2028.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1576 IS (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 1 tents for the Energy Independence and Security Act 2 of 2007 (Public Law 110–140; 121 Stat. 1493) is 3 amended by striking the item relating to section 228 4 and inserting the following: 5 ‘‘Sec. 228. Aquatic biomass.’’. SEC. 102. BIOLOGICAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION PRO- 6 GRAMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Policy Act of 2005 8 is amended by inserting after section 977 (42 U.S.C. 9 16317) the following: 10 ‘‘SEC. 977A. BIOLOGICAL CARBON DIOXIDE CONVERSION 11 PROGRAMS. 12 ‘‘(a) GENETIC MODELING AND TOOLS; 13 BIOPROSPECTING.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 15 of Science shall establish a program to improve ge- 16 netic modeling and manipulation for carbon dioxide 17 conversion. 18 ‘‘(2) METHODOLOGY.—The program established 19 under paragraph (1) shall— 20 ‘‘(A) support efforts to improve carbon di- 21 oxide uptake and conversion through genetic 22 manipulation of crops and trees, including— 23 ‘‘(i) soil enhancements; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1576 IS ‘‘(ii) enhanced photosynthesis, includ- 1 ing microbial soil amendments and 2 perennialization; and 3 ‘‘(iii) root growth; and 4 ‘‘(B) support efforts to bioprospect using 5 tools and high-throughput screening methods 6 for organisms with unique attributes related to 7 carbon dioxide conversion. 8 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the pro- 9 gram established under paragraph (1), the Director 10 of the Office of Science shall coordinate with the 11 National Science Foundation and the Agricultural 12 Research Service. 13 ‘‘(b) NEW MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICA- 14 TION.— 15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF CARBON REMOVAL.—In 16 this subsection, the term ‘carbon removal’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Carbon 18 Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies Act of 19 2023. 20 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The Assistant Secretary for 21 Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, in con- 22 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall es- 23 tablish a program to develop new biologically based 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1576 IS carbon dioxide utilization products and coproducts 1 that result in carbon removal. 2 ‘‘(3) METHODOLOGY.—The program established 3 under paragraph (2) shall— 4 ‘‘(A) support efforts to develop new carbon 5 dioxide utilization products that result in car- 6 bon removal; 7 ‘‘(B) prioritize products that have the po- 8 tential to be deployed at a large scale; and 9 ‘‘(C) support efforts to develop valorization 10 of coproducts for— 11 ‘‘(i) feed; 12 ‘‘(ii) fuel; and 13 ‘‘(iii) other uses.’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 15 for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 16 119 Stat. 600) is amended by inserting after the item re- 17 lating to section 977 the following: 18 ‘‘Sec. 977A. Biological carbon dioxide conversion programs.’’. Subtitle B—Geological Carbon 19 Removal 20 SEC. 111. CARBON MINERALIZATION PILOT PROJECTS. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Energy Policy Act of 2005 22 is amended by inserting after section 963 (42 U.S.C. 23 16293) the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1576 IS ‘‘SEC. 963A. CARBON MINERALIZATION PILOT PROJECTS. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 2 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 3 mospheric Administration and the Director of the United 4 States Geological Survey, shall conduct field experiments 5 of ex situ and in situ carbon mineralization approaches 6 for the purposes of advancing carbon removal technologies 7 or approaches (as defined in section 2 of the Carbon Re- 8 moval and Emissions Storage Technologies Act of 2023). 9 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 10 Secretary shall— 11 ‘‘(1) conduct field experiments of ex situ carbon 12 mineralization— 13 ‘‘(A) using desalination brine treatment; 14 and 15 ‘‘(B) through the broadcast of reactive 16 minerals on— 17 ‘‘(i) soils; 18 ‘‘(ii) beaches; and 19 ‘‘(iii) shallow oceans; and 20 ‘‘(2) conduct field experiments of in situ carbon 21 mineralization, including through drilling and injec- 22 tion in reactive formations for— 23 ‘‘(A) mantle peridotite; 24 ‘‘(B) basalt; and 25 ‘‘(C) other relevant formations. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 May 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1576.IS S1576 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1576 IS ‘‘(c) FIELD EXPERIMENT GOALS AND OBJEC- 1 TIVES.—The Secretary shall develop goals and objectives 2 for field experiments carried out under this section to de- 3 crease the energy requirements and costs to pro [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]