April 17, 2024 - As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has announced five finalists to receive a total of $1.5 million for developing commercialization programs that support technologies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) pollution by removing it directly from the atmosphere. Accelerating development and deployment of carbon dioxide removal, including direct air capture technology advancements, is an essential element of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic climate and clean energy agenda.

The Direct Air Capture Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize is one of several prize competitions hosted by DOE and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support breakthrough direct air capture technologies that demonstrate strong potential to accelerate economic support and expand domestic carbon removal.

“The finalist teams demonstrated significant strides and knowledge in supporting our net-zero goals, realizing their proposed program concepts to rapidly commercialize and scale carbon dioxide removal,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. “There was an outstanding cohort of semifinalists to choose from, which is a testament to the foundational work that clean-tech incubators are doing to support entrepreneurs and their innovations.”

Direct air capture is a process that separates CO₂ from the air, helping to reduce the level of CO₂ already in the atmosphere. The separated CO₂ can then be safely and permanently stored deep underground or converted into useful carbon-containing products like concrete that prevent its release back into the atmosphere.

Direct Air Capture Pre-Commercial EPIC Prize Finalists

The Direct Air Capture EPIC Prize sponsors incubator teams that provide creative and impactful solutions and programs that support entrepreneurs and innovators in the direct air capture space. Effective incubators and accelerators help break down barriers that underserved and underrepresented innovators and entrepreneurs face when they develop new technology. From mentorship and networking to prototyping assistance and intellectual property management, incubators accelerate economic development, strengthen innovation, and expand domestic carbon-removal technology development and manufacturing.

In the “Move It” second phase of the prize, teams were tasked to progress toward implementation by recruiting entrepreneurs and innovators, building a support and resource network, and collecting metrics to measure success. 

Learn more about the finalist teams and their winning Move It Phase solutions:

• Activate Global, Inc. — Berkeley, CA: Layers new, targeted direct air capture programming into an existing entrepreneurial fellowship to support three to five new direct air capture startups yearly, including direct recruitment of diverse direct air capture founders leveraging generative artificial intelligence and natural language modeling. See their winning Move It Phase accomplishments.
• Impossible Labs, Inc. (Airminers) — San Mateo, CA: Kickstarted a DAC Pioneers program offering that provides direct air capture startups with education, resources, and access to DOE national laboratory experts with a focus on environmental justice, leveraging a network of more than 2,000 members that support carbon removal startups. See their winning Move It Phase accomplishments.
• gener8tor Management LLC (gener8tor DAC Accelerator) — Chicago, IL: Will invest $100,000 per company in five direct air capture startups in the first year and guide them through the process with individualized coaching, mentorship, networking, and supporter access. See their winning Move It Phase accomplishments.
• Newlab LLC — Brooklyn, NY: Developed the DAC Slingshot Program to accelerate the development of direct air capture technologies by providing targeted and differentiated support and addressing barriers to formation and lab-to-pilot innovations. See their winning Move It Phase accomplishments.
• OxiCool, Inc. (Radicle Development Center) — Malvern, PA: Treats hardware development as a specialized skillset and matches physical infrastructure with an experienced team of engineers to catalyze the build out of promising direct air capture technology. See their winning Move It Phase accomplishments.

Each finalist team will receive $300,000 in cash prizes and is eligible to advance to the “Prove It” Phase of the prize competition to demonstrate the success of their solution implementation and compete for a grand prize of $750,000 and runner-up prize of $250,000 in cash awards.

The Direct Air Capture EPIC Prize is funded by FECM and administered by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The EPIC prize model was developed by the Office of Technology Transitions. The Direct Air Capture EPIC Prize is part of a suite of separate but connected prizes to support direct air capture technology advancement with a focus on community and labor engagement, creating high-quality jobs, and providing economic and environmental benefits to affected communities. Learn more about the Direct Air Capture Prizes suite.

FECM minimizes environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes while working to achieve net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory website.