Lignite Research Program-Grant Rounds 89-80

Grant Round 89

No Approved Projects

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Grant Round 88

FY19-88-220: Project Tundra-(FEED) 

  • Sponsor: Minnkota Power Cooperative
  • Objective: Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study for carbon capture utilization and storage at the Milton R. Young plant.
  • Funded Amount: $20,000,000
  • Total Project Cost: $46,006,695
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Grant Round 87

FY19-87-218: Annual Lignite Energy Council Education Program 

  • Sponsor: Lignite Energy Council (LEC)
  • Objective: To educate teachers, students, and members of the general public about career opportunities, economic benefits, and operations of the lignite industry.
  • Funded Amount: $100,000
  • Total Project Cost: $206,500

FY19-87-219: Investigating the Use of Fly Ash for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements

  • Sponsor: UND Department of Civil Engineering
  • Objective: Evaluate the applicability of North Dakota lignite fly ash as a mineral source for asphalt.
  • Funded Amount: $53,813.85
  • Total Project Cost: $119,463
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Grant Round 86

FY18-86-215: Continued Funding for Regional Lignite Public Affairs Program "Coalition for a Secure Energy Future" (Confidential) 

  • Sponsor: Lignite Energy Council (LEC)
  • Objective: Through the public affairs program-the Coalition for a Secure Energy Future-the Lignite Energy Council seeks to broaden the support of coal-based electricity in North Dakota and Minnesota. This work will be done by focusing on legislators and other elected officials to increase their awareness of coal-based electricity to family and businesses; meet with like-minded associations and allies to support policies that keep coal-based electricity as a valuable component of the regional energy mix; and use diverse communication channels, such as media visits, chamber events, news release, letters to the editor, paid media and fact sheets to alert interested parties about the Coalition and its activities and be pro-active in getting out messages to promote an “all-of-the-above” energy policy that includes coal-based electricity by focusing on its positive attributes such as affordability and reliability.
  • Funded Amount: $1,800,000
  • Total Project Cost: $3,600,000

FY18-86-217: Economical Extraction and Recovery of Rare-earth Elements and Production of Clean Value-Added Products from Low-Rank Coal Fly Ash

  • Sponsor: Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)
  • Objective: To develop an economically viable and tailorable rare earth element (REE) extraction and concentration method for low-rank coal (LRC) fly ash and bottom ash.
  • Funded Amount: $30,000
  • Total Project Cost: $510,000
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Grant Round 85

FY18-85-214: Annual Lignite Energy Council Education Program

  • Sponsor: Lignite Energy Council (LEC)
  • Objective: Funding for one year to continue the Lignite Education Program which includes the Lignite Education Seminar, lignite video, and Energy Education Program for the classrooms.
  • Funded Amount: $100,000
  • Total Project Cost: $215,000
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Grant Round 84

FY18-84-212: Project Carbon 

  • Sponsor: Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)/University of ND (UND)
  • Objective: Enable carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects to move forward in the state of North Dakota by determining the best capture technology options and system configurations for an existing North Dakota lignite-fired system.
  • Funded Amount: $3,200,000
  • Total Project Cost: $12,700,000

FY18-84-213: Development of Low-Cost Rare Earth Element Analysis and Sorting Methods

  • Sponsor: Microbeam Technologies Inc.
  • Objective: Develop novel rare earth element (REE) fingerprinting algorithms via Portable X-ray Fluorescence (pXRF) and gamma ray analysis.
  • Funded Amount: $224,767
  • Total Project Cost: $449,534
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Grant Round 83

FY17-83-209: Carbon Capture & Utilization Using "VCCSTM' Cycle" Technology-Phase II 

  • Sponsor: Expansion Energy, LLC
  • Objective: A CO2 capture project focused on forming minerals with the carbon while extracting rare earth elements.
  • Funded Amount: $62,000
  • Total Project Cost: $124,000

FY17-83-210: Investigation of Rare Element Extraction from ND Coal-Related Feedstocks

  • Sponsor: Institute for Energy Studies/University of ND (UND)
  • Objective: Demonstrate at a bench scale a high-performance technology to recover rare earth elements (REE) from North Dakota lignite coal or lignite-related feed stocks.
  • Funded Amount: $280,000
  • Total Project Cost: $3,437,500

FY17-83-211: Resource Recovery from a Coal-Fired Power Plant to Enhance Agriculture Production in Open Field and Greenhouse Facilities

  • Sponsor: North American Coal Corporation
  • Objective: A collaboration of research projects in increased agricultural production by recovering resources from lignite-fired power plants.
  • Funded Amount: $149,557
  • Total Project Cost: $299,557
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Grant Round 82

FY17-82-208: ND Integrated Carbon Storage Complex Feasibility Study 

  • Sponsor: University of ND/Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) 
  • Objective: To develop a commercial scale (50+ million metric tons [Mt]) geologic CO2 storage site.
  • Funded Amount: $1,500,000
  • Total Project Cost: $13,857,978
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Grant Round 81

FY17-81-207: Annual Lignite Energy Council Education Program 

  • Sponsor: Lignite Energy Council (LEC)
  • Objective: Request funding for one year to continue the Lignite Education Program to educate teachers, students, and members of the public about career opportunities, economic benefits, and lignite industry operations.
  • Funded Amount: $100,000
  • Total Project Cost: $234,000
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Grant Round 80

FY16-80-201: Investigation of Rare Earth Element Extraction from ND Coal-Related Feedstocks 

  • Sponsor: University of ND Institute for Energy Studies
  • Objective: Determine the technical and economic feasibility of concentrating rare earth elements (REEs) from the reject streams of a ND lignite drying process.
  • Funded Amount: $94,000
  • Total Project Cost: $936,847

FY16-80-202: Managing Aerosol Emissions from CO2 Capture Systems

  • Sponsor: Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)
  • Objective: Determine impact of low-rank coal combustion system aerosol formation, abundance, and chemistry in flue gas downstream of particulate and sulfar dioxide control systems.
  • Funded Amount: $300,000
  • Total Project Cost: $600,000 

FY16-80-203: Pathway to Low-Carbon Lignite Utilization-Phase 1B & 2A

  • Sponsor: Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)
  • Objective: Continue the evaluation and development of a low-carbon pathway to lignite utilization for electric power generation through Allam Cycle technology.
  • Funded Amount: $3,500,000
  • Total Project Cost: $10,300,000

FY16-80-204: Management Practices to Improve Soil and Vegetation Perimeters of Reclaimed ND Coal Mine Lands 

  • Sponsor: Department of Soil Science School of Natural Resource Sciences (NDSU)
  • Objective: Evaluate existing soil management practices and implement and evaluate land remediation field trials designed to improve soil properties and native vegetation.
  • Funded Amount: $578,187
  • Total Project Cost: $1,156,374

FY16-80-205: Carbon Capture & Utilization Using 'VCCSTM Cycle' Technology

  • Sponsor: Expansion Energy
  • Objective: Design and estimate the capital costs for a modular pilot plant utilizing XE’s patented “VCCS™ Cycle” carbon capture & utilization technology used to neutralize CO2 from power plant flue gas.
  • Funded Amount: $45,000
  • Total Project Cost: $145,000

FY16-80-206: Capture and Capture/Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide-The CEC/MTU Clearite Carbon Dioxide Capture/CO2 Production Process

  • Sponsor: Carbontec Energy Corporation/Michigan Technological University
  • Objective: Developing a patented technology that captures CO2 from flue gas and then regenerates the material resulting in enhanced oil recovery.
  • Funded Amount: $48,000
  • Total Project Cost: $96,000
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