{"operation":"document","citation":"21-0078","title":"Remora Carbon — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2021-09-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"21-0078 response to Remora Carbon concerning 171.1.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-21-0078.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-21-0078.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-21-0078","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/75911/210078.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nSeptember 15, 2021\nMs. Christina Reynolds\nChief Science Officer\nRemora Carbon\n13685 Otterson Ct\nLivonia, MI 48150\nReference No. 21-0078\nDear Ms. Reynolds:\nThis letter is in response to your July 13, 2021, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) regarding the applicability of the HMR to\na new technology your company has developed. In your email and subsequent phone\nconversations, you describe a device that will be attached to the cab of a motor vehicle. This\ndevice will connect to the exhaust system, filter out CO2, then compress the gases into attached\nonboard cylinders for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions. You ask whether your carbon\ncapture device is subject to the HMR when installed on a motor vehicle.\nBased on the information you have provided, the answer is no. Section 171.1(b) and (c) state\nthat the requirements of the HMR apply to each person who offers a hazardous material for\ntransportation in commerce or transports a hazardous material in commerce. It is the opinion of\nthis Office that auxiliary equipment attached to a motor vehicle with the intent of reducing\ncarbon emissions is not considered to be “in commerce.\n” Therefore, the requirements of the\nHMR are not applicable to your device.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nHowever, please be aware that there may be applicable requirements from other Federal agencies\nsuch as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), who can be reached at 1800-\n832-5660, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), who can be reached at\n1-888-327-4236, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who can be reached at 1-734-\n214-4333.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nFrom: Quade, William (PHMSA) <william.quade@dot.gov>\nSent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 3:29 PM\nTo: Pfund, Duane (PHMSA) <Duane.Pfund@dot.gov>\nSubject: FW: Remora -- PHMSA Letter of Interpretation Request\nWolcott\n21-0078\nDuane,\nCan you please treat this as a request for interp. I have let them know we may need to contact them\nfor additional information, but I’d like to get this through as quickly as possible. There is front-office\ninterest in this as the system has potentially large positive environmental impacts.\nFrom my understanding of it, the system would not fall under the HMR as it is not transportation in\ncommerce. It would be a vehicle system (like a fuel system) that falls under NHTSA or FMCSA\njurisdiction. If folks have a different view (or if I am wrong), let me know so I can do expectation\nsetting with the front office.\nThanks,\nBQ\nBill Quade\nDeputy Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy\nUSDOT, PHMSA\n1200 New Jersey Ave, SE, Washington, DC 20590\nOffice: 202.366.6873 ◊ Mobile: 202.510.8276\nFrom: Christina Reynolds <christina@remoracarbon.com>\nSent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 12:53 PM\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nTo: Quade, William (PHMSA) <william.quade@dot.gov>\nCc: Clay Dumas <clay@lowercasellc.com>; Paul Gross <paul@remoracarbon.com>\nSubject: Remora -- PHMSA Letter of Interpretation Request\nCAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or\nopen attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.\nHi Bill-\nAs Clay Dumas discussed with you, Remora is building carbon capture devices for semi trucks. We\nfilter carbon dioxide from vehicle exhaust and then compress and store CO2 in pressure vessels\nonboard the vehicle. We would like to request a letter of interpretation to facilitate our custom\ntank design.\nWe are weight and size constrained inside our device, so available space and minimal weight will\ndetermine the final vessel type, size, and location. The material being stored is primarily supercritical\nCO2, with small amounts of N2, O2, and NOx. Collectively, the vessels in each device hold ~1800lb of\nCO2. For our four initial pilots, we are using Steelhead Composite DOT-certified COPVs- 270L water\nvolume, 17\"D, 8.5'L, 5000psi operating pressure.\nI am happy to answer any questions you have and look forward to hearing back from you.\nThanks,\nChristina\nChristina Reynolds, PhD\nCSO @ Remora\n443-454-4956","truncated":false,"body_characters":4460}