On September 18, 2023, the first round award ceremony of Tencent's Carbon Search Program was successfully held at Tencent Binhai Building. The project titled Rapid Mineralization and Sequestration of CO2 in Eastern Coastal Basalt and Its Applications, proposed by Professor Zhang Fengshou from the Department of Underground Construction and Engineering at the School of Civil Engineering, was successfully selected for the TOP 30 list.

The Carbon Search Program is the first billion-level funding and reward initiative in the field of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) in China initiated by a technology company, Tencent. Its goal is to identify the next-generation breakthrough low-carbon technologies. It aims to promote the scaling up of cutting-edge technologies by providing flexible catalytic funding and resources by the year 2030.

Since its launch in March of this year, the program has gained extensive attention and a positive response from society. Over 300 high-quality projects from domestic universities, research institutions, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the China Geological Survey have participated in the application process. The program encompasses three innovation tracks, including pilot support, startup incubation, and capability building, tailored to different stages and categories of projects. The evaluation committee, for the first time, adopted a three-party joint review process involving academic experts representing the technical, application, and business sectors of the CCUS field, industry partners, and investment partners. This ensures that cutting-edge technologies developed in laboratories receive market validation and eventually, 30 outstanding projects were selected to receive the initial 500,000 RMB in funding. Among these 30 projects, the committee will further select the best projects to receive funding in the tens of millions of RMB.

Implementing the Dual Carbon goals is a crucial step in ensuring China's energy security and achieving its status as an energy powerhouse. The inclusion of the project in the Carbon Search Program is a critical endeavor by the School of Civil Engineering to target national needs and support the development of cutting-edge technologies in the CCUS field, ultimately contributing to the industry's advancement.