Southern California Edison is among electric and gas utilities sponsoring a five-year initiative to accelerate the development and demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies.

The two national industry groups representing the utilities — the Electric Power Research Institute and the Gas Technology Institute — say the initiative is necessary because existing technologies are not enough to meet increasingly ambitious decarbonization goals from private companies and governments alike.

“We look forward to working together with the members of EPRI and GTI to find innovative, affordable solutions that will help us achieve carbon neutrality,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of SCE. "While cleaning the grid and efficient electrification are key pillars to decarbonize the economy, low-carbon fuels will play a continued role as well.”

The Low-Carbon Resources Initiative is an international collaborative spanning the electric and gas sectors that will help advance global, economy-wide deep decarbonization. With 18 anchor sponsors, the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative is seeded with $10 million from the EPRI collaborative. Funding of $100 million is being targeted through public and private collaboration.

“Driving collaboration through the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative is important to reach deep decarbonization goals beyond 2030,” said EPRI President Arshad Mansoor. “Achieving ambitious targets will require technologies and processes beyond those widely available today. This global initiative will advance affordable pathways to economy-wide decarbonization.”

Sponsors of the initiative represent a wide swath of the energy industry, including American Electric Power, Con Edison, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Exelon Corporation, Lincoln Electric System, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Missouri River Energy Services, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Americas, National Fuel, New York Power Authority, Portland General Electric, PPL Corporation, Salt River Project, SoCal Gas, SCE, Southern Company and Tennessee Valley Authority.

“Achieving decarbonization goals in a safe, reliable and affordable manner will require deeper integration of energy infrastructure as well as new technologies that address the needs of all sectors of the economy,” said GTI Senior Vice President Michael Rutkowski. “The LCRI, with widespread involvement across the gas and electric sectors, will advance and demonstrate the technologies needed across the broader energy industry.”

The Low-Carbon Resources Initiative is targeting advancements in low-carbon electric generation technologies and low-carbon energy carriers, such as hydrogen, ammonia, synthetic fuels and biofuels.

This worldwide collaborative will identify and accelerate fundamental development of promising technologies, demonstrate and assess the performance of key technologies and processes and inform key stakeholders and the public about technology options and potential pathways to a low-carbon future.

EPRI and GTI will host a virtual roundtable on low-carbon resources Sept. 1 at 1 p.m.(EST).