Methane Removal Research and Innovation Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the Methane Removal Research and Innovation Act of 2026.
In this section:
The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
The term methane removal approach means enhancing sinks by breaking down methane in, or removing methane from, the ambient atmosphere through a physical, chemical, or biological method, or combination thereof.
The term National Laboratory has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801).
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a research initiative, to be known as the Methane Removal Research Initiative (in this section referred to as the Initiative), to expand the scientific understanding of chemistry, geosciences, biosciences, atmospheric sciences, earth and environmental systems sciences, engineering, materials, social sciences, and ethics useful for the practical development of methane removal approaches.
In carrying out the Initiative, the Secretary shall seek to the greatest extent practicable to leverage expertise and resources from the following:
The Office of Science of the Department of Energy, especially the Basic Energy Sciences Program and the Biological and Environmental Research Program of such Office.
The Office of Fossil Energy of the Department of Energy.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.
The National Science Foundation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Environmental Protection Agency.
The Department of Agriculture.
The United States Geological Survey.
The Department of the Interior.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Through the Initiative, the Secretary shall organize activities among multidisciplinary teams, consisting of experts from National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, private sector entities, and other appropriate entities to support research, development, demonstration, and commercial application activities examining the feasibility, costs, potential scale, social barriers, and the practical development of methane removal approaches.
The activities described in subparagraph (A) shall include defining and satisfying milestone-driven research goals relating to examining the following:
Existing mechanisms of atmospheric oxidation and atmospheric oxidative capacity.
Methanotrophy enhancement.
Biological methods involving plants.
Methane concentrators and breakdown reactors.
Methane breakdown coatings and other new materials.
Other new and existing methane removal approaches.
Tools to assess atmospheric methane removal methods.
Science communication and public engagement materials.
The research goals described in subparagraph (B) shall be informed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report entitled A Research Agenda Toward Atmospheric Methane Removal.
The Secretary is authorized to organize research activities under this paragraph through single Principal Investigator awards, small research groups, Energy Frontier Research Centers, Energy Innovation Hubs, or other organizational structures.
The Secretary shall provide sufficient resources for the purpose of satisfying the goals specified in subparagraph (B) over a period of time to be determined by the Secretary.
Not later than three years after the date of the enactment of this Act and every three years thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other relevant Department of Energy applied energy and commercialization offices, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and other relevant Federal officials at the Secretary’s discretion, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a brief report detailing the following:
Research activities and goals under paragraph (2).
Progress toward meeting such goals.
A summary of the state of scientific knowledge on methane removal approaches, including key knowledge gaps and proposed research to fill such knowledge gaps.
Resource limitations and needs.
Recommendations for future activities to advance methane removal technologies.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.