Charleston, WV – Today, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced that West Virginia University (WVU) Research Corporation, located in Morgantown, West Virginia, will receive $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to conduct a conceptual design and feasibility study of a proposed integrated process for producing green methanol. The project will also receive $113,675 in non-DOE funding for a total value of $513,675.

“West Virginia has been America’s energy and manufacturing powerhouse for generations, and the West Virginia University Research Corporation continues to help uphold that legacy. I am proud to see this funding headed to WVU Research Corporation and for the Mountain State to continue to be on the cutting edge of developing the technologies of the future that will strengthen our economy and national security,” said Chairman Manchin.

Project Details:

Modular Integrated System for Carbon-Neutral Methanol Synthesis Using Direct Air Capture and Carbon-Free Hydrogen Production – Phase I — West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia), with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their 10 industrial partners, intends to conduct a conceptual design and feasibility study of a proposed integrated process for producing green methanol. The key outcome will be a highly integrated and optimized process with state-of-the-art technologies for DAC, electrolysis and methanol synthesis leading to cost-efficient production of >99.7% pure green methanol with maximum utilization of net CO₂ and minimum environmental footprint. 

To read more from the U.S. Department of Energy, click here.