05.25.16

Hoeven Announces $9 Million Expansion of EERC Cooperative Agreement

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee and the Energy Appropriations Subcommittee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $9.5 million to the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota (UND). Today’s award is an expansion of the $2.5 million joint cooperative agreement Hoeven announced last year for EERC to conduct research and develop technologies to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels, bringing the total funding of the project to $12 million. The agreement followed a meeting the senator arranged between Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, EERC Director Tom Erickson and Vice President for Strategic Partnerships John Harju.

“We have worked hard to support the important efforts of the EERC, and it is exciting to see the Department of Energy continue and expand its investment in this research partnership,” Hoeven said. “By supporting the development of new and innovative technologies and practices, this research will help us meet our future energy needs, while preventing high costs for consumers and enabling better environmental stewardship.”

Through the agreement, EERC conducts basic fundamental and applied research to assist the energy industry in deploying and commercializing efficient, low-carbon, nonpolluting energy technologies that can compete effectively in meeting requirements for clean fuels, chemicals, electricity and water resources in the 21st century. The EERC is responsible for securing a minimum overall 20 percent cost share from nonfederal partners.

Hoeven has worked to advance the development and deployment of innovative energy technologies. The senator has promoted more cooperative agreements between the Department of Energy and the nation’s research universities, highlighting the work of the EERC and the Center for Computationally Assisted Science and Technology (CCAST) at North Dakota State University (NDSU) to bring new energy technology to market.

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