The Biden administration is poised to spend millions on a novel project that would pull carbon dioxide from the air, using energy from a new type of nuclear power plant. If successful, the idea for the Wyoming Regional Direct Air Capture Hub would be a win-win: a facility that removes planet-warming pollution without emitting any itself. But some experts worry that wedding two nascent technologies — direct air capture and so-called small modular reactors — is too risky, writes Corbin Hiar. “It adds complication upon complication,” Wil Burns, the co-director of American University's Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy, told Corbin. The idea comes from the climate technology company CarbonCapture, which submitted the hub proposal last year to the Department of Energy. The project is a front-runner for a $500 million award from the agency, which has $2.4 billion left to spend on advancing the deployment of direct air capture. The company and its team have already received $12.5 million from DOE to carry out an engineering study of the Wyoming hub plan over the next two years. Risky business Direct air capture, which targets carbon that's already been dumped into the atmosphere, is drawing major support as a climate solution — both from the Biden administration and from corporations seeking to offset their emissions. Climate scientists say carbon removal, along with a rapid transition away from fossil fuels, is a necessary tool to tackle climate change and stave off its worsening impacts. Still, only two commercial-scale direct air capture facilities are in operation globally. Meanwhile, just two new nuclear reactors have come online in the United States over the past 25 years. Nuclear energy advocates have promoted small modular reactors as a cheaper, more flexible alternative to traditional nuke plants — but recent setbacks have sparked new questions about their future. The United States’ first expected commercial small modular reactor was canceled by NuScale Power in November, for example, after the company cited a lack of customers. In a letter of intent outlining its hub proposal, CarbonCapture argued that nuclear is “core to the global [direct air capture] deployment at the gigaton scale.” That term means sucking up 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, or roughly the annual emissions of more than 260 coal-fired power plants. Burns said the federal government should be cautious about funding a DAC proposal that relies on novel nuclear plants. "Government needs to be thinking this through before we commit a lot more money," he said. Yet, in an interview, CarbonCapture played down the significance that small modular reactors could have for the final hub plan, which is still subject to negotiation with DOE. Small nuclear reactors would be “nice to have when we’re at full capacity in the 2030s,” said Patricia Loria, that startup’s vice president of business development.
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