SRE - SoCalGas and ClearSign Collaboration Awarded U.S. Department of Energy Grant to Scale-Up Ultra-Low-NOx Hydrogen-Powered Industrial Burner Prototype | Benzinga
DOE program awarded $126 million in grants to 106 projects to pursue clean energy research and development
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A project on which Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and Tulsa-Based ClearSign Technologies Corporation are collaborating has been awarded more than $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to scale-up an ultra-low-NOx hydrogen-powered industrial burner prototype, and introduce this technology to industries in Southern California.
This preliminary award was part of $126 million awarded to 106 projects the Department of Energy announced to help small businesses like ClearSign address multiple mission areas across the DOE, including clean energy and decarbonization, cybersecurity and grid reliability, fusion energy, and nuclear nonproliferation. SoCalGas will be providing an additional $500,000 to help fund the project and to field demonstrate the technology in Southern California. The burner is designed to operate on up to 100% hydrogen and to help decarbonize hard-to-electrify, high-heat industrial processes.
"This exciting and innovative project offers a look at how hydrogen can play a vital role in helping industries in California start down the path to net zero through technology that allows the transition to clean fuels," said Neil Navin, SoCalGas Chief Clean Fuels Officer. "Investments in clean fuel technologies like this will be key in providing hard-to-decarbonize industries the means to reach net zero quickly and affordably."
"We are extremely pleased to receive this support from the forward-looking team at SoCalGas. Our collaboration with SoCalGas provides not just additional financial support, but also their engagement with us in moving the energy transition forward in California, and making our ClearSign Core technologies part of the technical portfolio available to all the industries that SoCalGas serves" said Jim Deller, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of ClearSign.
"Big ideas become realities in the labs, workshops, factories, and plants of America's small businesses," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, in announcing the $126 million in grants. "Small businesses tackle monumental issues all over the country, including climate change. DOE's small business grants help companies across the country to develop the technologies, products, and infrastructure we will need for the transition to clean energy."
The ClearSign project set out to build a process burner, which provides high heat in a number of industrial uses. It can run on natural gas, natural gas blended with hydrogen or pure hydrogen, and cuts down on NOx emissions from combustion.
Phase One of the collaboration has already seen the completion and deployment ...