DOE Awards $75 Million for Basalt Carbon Mineralization Injection Wells in 3 Western States

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management announced $75 million in research and development demonstration grants, funding three commercial basalt carbon mineralization projects across the Pacific Northwest.

Locking Carbon Dioxide Permanently into Solid Basalt Rock Formations

The funding packages provide capital to energy ventures drilling 8,000-foot deep Class VI injection wells into basalt rock formations in the Columbia River Plateau in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The process dissolves captured atmospheric and industrial carbon dioxide into water under high pressure and injects it into reactive subsurface basalt, where natural chemical reactions permanently turn the CO2 into solid carbonate stone within two years, eliminating any risk of subterranean gas leakage.

DOE leadership affirmed that permanent subsurface carbon mineralization is a vital technological tool to reach net-zero emissions while creating high-wage subsurface engineering jobs.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Geologists Endorse

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) geochemists praised the funding for validating seismic and geochemical monitoring arrays.

Carbon removal developers noted that basalt mineralization provides the highest permanent carbon storage certification standard globally.

Well Drilling Commences

Deep exploratory stratigraphic core drilling at the pilot injection sites will begin in November 2026.