The Department of Energy announced late last week plans to distribute $14 million in funding to six different projects in an effort to improve technology at integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants where carbon capture is used.  Secretary Chu said, “These new technologies will not only help reduce carbon pollution, they will keep America competitive, create the high-tech jobs of the future and drive down electricity costs for consumers.”  The goal of funding these projects is to promote the commercialization of IGCC with carbon capture by advancing the technologies, so they become more economical.  The six projects chosen, which will be managed by the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), are Electric Power Research Institute, Inc (Palo Alto, CA), TDA Research, Inc (Wheat Ridge, CO), General Electric Company (Houston, TX), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc (Allentown, PA), Reaction Engineering International (Salt Lake City, UT) and General Electric Company(Houston, TX).