The MRCI is the progression of the Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSP) network created by the Department of Energy in 2003 to provide the foundation for validating Carbon, Capture, and Storage (CCS) technologies that can be commercially deployed and monitored throughout the United States. The original RCSP network was comprised of seven regions. Upon the completion of that 20-plus year program, those seven regions were reformed to create four regional initiatives. The MRCI is the combination of the former Midwest Geologic Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) and the former Midwest Region Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) and builds off the foundation of the regional partnerships to move the area towards readiness for and deployment of commercial Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS).
The MRCI project study area includes states from the Midwest to east coast, as far south as Kentucky and as far north as Maine, covering more than one-third of the nation’s CO2 point source emissions, accounting for 945 million metric tons of CO2. The geology of the region is diverse, covering multiple storage complexes including the Michigan Basin, Illinois Basin, Appalachian Basin, Atlantic Coast, and Off-shore. The region hosts more than a dozen pilot and/or full-scale CCUS projects, which provide a solid foundation for future work.