RAPID

The natural gas upgrading (NGU) focus area includes activities and projects with the objective of upgrading the value of natural gas and natural gas liquids. As domestic natural gas production increases, smaller and more remote wells will likely increase in number, which will generate a need for smaller-scale, modular solutions to enable economic production. With an emphasis on these distributed settings, the NGU focus area will explicitly address both performance improvements and cost reductions within the full scope from upstream extraction through downstream.

Vision

Efficient, sustainable and economical technologies for domestic natural gas utilization

Objectives

• Leverage abundant natural gas reserves by providing domestic options for utilization
• Mature and demonstrate transformational and enabling technologies for domestic natural gas utilization
• Inform development of intensified, modular equipment and processes
• Maximize environmental and economic impact through transfer of technologies and learnings across industries

Key Approaches

• Formulate Natural Gas Upgrading R&D Roadmaps: Indirect, Oxidative, NonOxidative, Enabling
• Dedicated Facilities with TRL/MRL continuity establishing efficient commercialization pipeline
• Coordinate, baseline and standardize testing and evaluation across all relevant TRL/MRLs for effective R&D guidance and achievement of RAPID goals
• Integrated efforts with other RAPID Application Focus Areas
• Methodically engage Technical Advisory Board and DOE points of contact
• Annual Roadmap reviews

Expected Outcomes

• Through DOE and Industrial guidance, generate relevant and impactful funding opportunity announcements
• Generate transformational natural gas upgrading technologies that demonstrate significant progress toward RAPID metrics
• Reduce barriers to market entry for expanded use of natural gas as a feedstock
• Provide commercially-ready, FOAK prototypes