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ClearPath Action Rundown 
October 24th, 2025

Happy Friday!

1. ClearPath adds new members to the team

Audrey Magnuson leads ClearPath’s policy development on low-emissions chemicals manufacturing, refining and hydrogen technologies. She will be a resource for policymakers and industry leaders, working on industrial competitiveness and emissions reductions.

Before joining ClearPath, Audrey was an Analyst on ICF’s Climate and Energy Planning team, where she focused on stakeholder engagement and policy analysis to support state and local energy plans and private-sector climate resilience projects.

Zachary Popovich joins ClearPath as Grants and Development Manager. Prior to joining ClearPath, Zachary worked at the Center for International Private Enterprise and the International Republican Institute.

Welcome, Audrey and Zachary!

2. Google announces first carbon capture, storage and utilization project

Google announced a first-of-its-kind agreement to purchase power from the Broadwing Energy project, a new 400 MW natural gas-fired power plant with carbon capture in Decatur, Illinois, being developed in partnership with Low Carbon Infrastructure (LCI). Located next to Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) ethanol facility, this project will supply clean firm power to ADM and the regional grid that powers Google’s data centers. 

In partnership with LCI, captured carbon dioxide from the power plant will also be permanently stored in ADM’s existing Class VI carbon storage well. 

The project will:

• Support carbon capture at commercial scale, demonstrating how natural gas can deliver reliable, low-carbon power;
• Meet AI-driven energy demand with clean, firm generation; and
• Will achieve commercial operation by 2030.

What’s clear: Speed is key. Natural gas power generation paired with carbon capture is one of the fastest, most reliable ways to meet surging demand for clean firm power.

3. Capturing opportunity: Tallgrass powers up CO₂ pipeline

Tallgrass Energy has launched a first-of-its-kind carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipeline. This 392-mile pipeline, converted from an existing natural gas pipeline, transports CO₂ emissions captured from ethanol plants in the Midwest to Wyoming for permanent storage.

The project will:

• Boost the competitiveness of U.S. ethanol in global markets; 
• Leverage existing pipeline infrastructure; and
• Support the deployment of carbon capture technologies.

What’s clear: Tallgrass is leveraging the natural gas industry’s decades of expertise building critical energy infrastructure to enable the deployment of clean energy technologies.  

Plug in: Check out ClearPath’s carbon dioxide pipelines 101 here.

4. Senate clears major pipeline safety bill

This week, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 with strong bipartisan support. 

The legislation, introduced by Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Gary Peters (D-MI), reauthorizes the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for a five-year term. 

This bill will:

• Modernize safety regulations for carbon dioxide pipelines;
• Establish a voluntary information-sharing system for safety data; and
• Support pipeline integrity management.

What’s clear: The PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 will strengthen the United States’ pipeline network, ensuring it can safely, efficiently and reliably meet the nation’s growing energy needs.

Plug in: Watch ClearPath’s whiteboard video on the safety and importance of critical pipeline infrastructure.

5. Trump signs U.S.-Australia critical minerals pact

President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a bilateral framework pledging cooperation and joint investment in rare earths and critical minerals projects. 

The U.S. and Australia will work together to: 

• Identify critical minerals projects and provide $3 billion for projects in the U.S. and Australia over six months; 
• Accelerate permitting for mining projects; 
• Address market pricing volatility; 
• Deter adversaries, like China, from acquiring mining assets; and 
• Invest in recycling and geologic mapping. 

What’s clear: Australia contains over 40 critical minerals and is a world leader in producing rare earths. This partnership represents a significant step toward countering Chinese dominance, reducing national security vulnerabilities and restoring U.S. leadership in critical minerals.

6. Natural gas: Connecting the Rockies to the world

Govs. Mark Gordon (R-WY) and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) released the Rocky Mountain Gas Roadmap and Implementation Playbook. This first-of-its-kind infrastructure roadmap highlights opportunities to position natural gas from the Rockies as a cost-effective, low-carbon and competitive solution for growing energy demand in the U.S. and Asia.

This roadmap:

• Highlights the importance of natural gas for meeting growing energy demand;
• Identifies key infrastructure routes to deliver natural gas within the U.S. and to international markets; and
• Underscores the strategic opportunity for U.S. LNG exports in global trade.

What’s clear: Clean, reliable and affordable U.S. natural gas is essential to meeting domestic energy demand, maintaining U.S. energy leadership and reducing global energy emissions.

7. Electra turbocharges clean iron production

Iron start-up Electra announced it will develop its first demonstration plan in Jefferson County, Colorado, with iron production set to begin in mid-2026. Electra has transformed a technology known as "electrowinning," historically used to purify metals such as copper, to produce low-emissions iron. 

The project is backed by:

• Long-term purchase commitments from Nucor, Meta and the Toyota Group; 
• Over $186 million in project and venture capital from investors such as Breakthrough Energy, Nucor and Rio Tinto; and
• $8 million in clean industrial tax credits from Colorado's Energy Office.

What's clear: Bankable, long-term offtake commitments, paired with careful government support, are essential to scale American industrial innovation.  

8. The circuit

9. ICYMI

• For the first time in years, the U.S. has leased every available parcel of public land for geothermal development. Prices for parcels increased by more than 282% this year, reflecting growing industry interest.
• Fervo Energy, backed by Bill Gates, has raised nearly $700 million to scale next-generation geothermal projects in Utah using advanced drilling technology. 
• North America’s LNG export capacity is set to more than double by 2029, from 11.4 to 28.7 billion cubic feet per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 
• Oklo, newcleo, and Blykalla announced a $2 billion plan to expand U.S. nuclear fuel production. The partnership underscores how allied nations are working together to secure the next generation of nuclear power.
• U.S. steel production is the third cleanest in the world due to natural gas and electric arc furnace use, according to a new report by Global Efficiency Intelligence. 
• Thermal battery manufacturer Rondo Energy powered on the largest heat battery in the world at Holmes Western Oil's enhanced oil recovery facility in California.
• Google's quantum computer ran its new algorithm, Quantum Echoes, 13,000 times faster than the top supercomputer. American innovation in advanced computing technologies like quantum has the potential to transform U.S. energy need projections.
• GE Vernova acquired Prolec GE, a leading grid equipment supplier producing transformers in the U.S. and abroad, in a $5.3 billion deal that expands GE Vernova's ability to support demand growth.

ClearPath believes America must lead the world in innovation over regulation…markets over mandates…providing affordable, reliable, clean energy. 

That's all from us. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

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