DECATUR — Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S. (Wolf) and Richland Community College today announced an exciting new scholarship available to students interested in the rapidly advancing industry of carbon capture and storage (CCS), also commonly referred to as sequestration.

“This expanded partnership between Wolf and Richland Community College reflects our long-term commitment to helping educate and prepare the next generation of CCS experts who can support local communities and industries based right here in the Midwest that are seeking to achieve lower carbon emissions,” said Nick Noppinger, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Wolf. “The Sequestration Specialty at Richland, led by Dr. David Larrick, prepares students for jobs like project monitoring, environmental quality, and field technicians – all roles that Wolf has utilized or will employ over the course of the Mt. Simon Hub project. Our hope is this scholarship encourages more students to pursue promising careers in a growing industry with immeasurable potential.”

Funded by Wolf, the scholarship program will enable more students to pursue Richland Community College’s Sequestration Specialty, led by Dr. David Larrick. The program will enable students to learn about basic chemistry, geologic concepts and formations, policy developments, and effective carbon management technologies, such as capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

The program teaches students who effective carbon management technologies like CCS can be used to help reduce emissions from industrial sources like electricity and heat generation, agricultural processing, as well as steel, cement, and general manufacturing operations.

Dr. David Larrick, Associate Professor of Biology and Sequestration at Richland Community College, said, “The Wolf Carbon Solutions U.S. scholarship in support of Richland’s CCS coursework is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about CCS and other low carbon technologies being demonstrated at the college.  Students will also have the opportunity to participate in outreach activities for K-12, higher education, community, and professional audiences at the National Sequestration Education Center.”
Students interested in applying for this scholarship must first enroll in one of the Carbon Sequestration courses. From there, they can go to the Richland Community College Foundation scholarship base (richland.academicworks.com) and apply.  Additional information about the scholarship process can be found at www.richland.edu/scholarships.

The scholarship reinforces the employment opportunities created and maintained by the CCS industry as Wolf seeks to build the Mt. Simon Hub, a 280-mile CCS system capable of transporting 12 million tons of CO2 per year. The proposed project begins at ADM ethanol facilities in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa and would permanently store the CO2 via ADM storage sites in the Mt. Simon Sandstone near Decatur, Illinois. You can learn more about the Mt. Simon Hub here.