California Resources Corporation - Carbon TerraVault - Projects

California DAC Hub

Carbon TerraVault Holdings, LLC (CTV), a subsidiary of California Resources Corporation (CRC), has assembled a consortium of organizations across industry, technology, academia, national labs, community, government, and labor, to pursue U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding under its Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hubs Initiative to create the California DAC Hub, the state’s first full-scale DAC plus storage (DAC+S) network of regional DAC+S hubs. DAC+S is a solution that can remove and then permanently store atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) using low carbon emission energy and provide economic benefits to surrounding communities.

Potential Benefits Include:

Use of Renewable Energy
Utilization of Reclaimed Water
Quality Union Jobs in Construction and Technology
STEM and
Energy Transition Education Programs

“This project is more than a shared DAC infrastructure project; it serves as a hub model that delivers community benefits and jobs for other parts of the U.S. that also face climate change induced challenges.”

Fiona Ma,
California State Treasurer

Sacramento

San Francisco

Bakersfield

Los Angeles

The California DAC Hub will help accelerate the Golden State’s climate leadership and achieve its carbon neutrality goal, and prioritize surrounding under-represented California communities through transformative benefits potentially including local air quality improvements from helping optimize the use of renewable energy; utilization of reclaimed water and/or production of new water; quality union jobs in construction and low carbon energy technologies; and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and energy transition education programs.

Through the California DAC Hub, the consortium will pursue funding to develop a network of DAC+S hubs across the state under the DOE’s Regional DAC Hubs Initiative, as outlined under the $3.5 billion Funding Opportunity Announcement, to accelerate the commercialization of atmospheric CO₂ removal via integrated capture, processing, transport, and secure geologic storage. CO₂ from DAC+S hubs will not be used for enhanced oil recovery.

Key to the success of the California DAC Hub will be strong relationships with diverse community stakeholders to develop an equitable, just, and environmentally responsible approach to the project.

Non-profit energy research and development institute EPRI submitted an application to the DOE on March 13, 2023, as specified in the FOA instructions on behalf of the California DAC Hub consortium, including consortium lead CTV Direct, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CTV focused exclusively on DAC+S, and community benefits plan lead Kern Community College District (KernCCD). On August 11, 2023, the California DAC Hub was selected to receive $11.8 million in funding from the DOE. This funding will be used to perform Front End Engineering Design (FEED) studies in 2024 on the first proposed DAC facilities in Kern County, California, followed up with additional funding requests and planned development and construction potentially beginning in 2025.

Following the first hub in Kern County, the consortium will look to expand to other locations across the state. Each hub will provide benefits to surrounding communities, such as high-paying and permanent jobs and training programs for reskilling workers, to help California progress toward its 2030 and 2045 carbon removal goals.

Community Benefits

DAC+S will help accelerate California’s climate leadership and achieve its carbon neutrality goal, while prioritizing surrounding diverse communities through transformative benefits.

State & Local Economy

Economic Output ~ $2.9 billion
GDP ~ $1.6 billion

Labor & Taxes

~3,000 new construction jobs expected over 3 years
~300 jobs expected per year in operating/maintenance/services for 20 years
~$390 million expected to be paid in state taxes

Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for more ambitious climate action, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released its updated California Climate Plan to implement the most ambitious climate action of any jurisdiction in the world, including annual carbon removal/capture targets of 20 million metric tonnes (MT) of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 and 100 million MT by 2045. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon removal methods such as DAC+S are key to mitigation pathways aimed at keeping global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. In its 2022 Scoping Plan For Achieving Carbon Neutrality, CARB quoted the IPCC saying, “The deployment of CDR [carbon dioxide removal] to counterbalance hard-to-abate residual emissions is unavoidable if net zero CO₂ for GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions are to be achieved.” California DAC Hub, combined with permanent geological storage, will be essential to executing on those ambitions and helping build a clean and equitable energy economy that benefits all California communities.

California DAC Hub Consortium

Led by CTV Direct, Kern CCD and EPRI, the consortium includes the following organizations and may expand as appropriate based on further community engagement and future regional hub locations:

Industry

Accenture, AECOM, Bloom Energy, Brookfield Renewable, Carbon TerraVault, EPRI, GeothermEx, GreenFire Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Sage Geosystems, and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas);

Technology

Avnos and Climeworks;

Academia

Bakersfield College, California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), Taft College, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Carbon Management;

National Labs

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore Lab Foundation (LLF), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL);

Community

African American Network of Kern County (AANKC), B3K Prosperity, Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK), Grandma Whoople Enterprises, Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, KernCCD, Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (KCHCC), Kern Economic Development Corporation (KEDC), Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF), National Impact Mentoring and Training Program (NIMTP), Tel-Tec Security Systems Inc., The Open Door Network, Tejon Indian Tribe, and the West Side Recreation & Park District;

Government

City of Bakersfield and the West Kern Water District (WKWD); and

Labor

Employers’ Training Resource (ETR), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) - Local 428, International Union of Operating Engineers - Local 12, Kern, Inyo, Mono Counties Building Trades Council, and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC).

CTV is committed to engaging with our community-based organizations and including them throughout the development of the California DAC Hub and future associated regional hubs. Open and meaningful dialogue with our diverse stakeholders is a priority for the consortium as we expand participation of organizations and local communities.

For more information, read the full press release and presentation (PDF).

Download our DAC+S fact sheet, available in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF).

CRC’s Carbon TerraVault announces formation of the California DAC Hub

The application for the California DAC Hub is submitted to the U.S. DOE.

The California DAC Hub is selected to receive $11.8 million in funding from the DOE. This funding will be used to perform FEED studies in 2024 on the first proposed DAC facilities in Kern County, California.