Bipartisan legislation aimed at accelerating carbon capture technology development was introduced April 6 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill introduced by Reps. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., and Marc Veasey, D-Texas, would authorize states to use private activity bonds to finance the purchase and installation of carbon capture equipment. The bonds, often used to finance large-scale infrastructure projects, would reduce financing costs for carbon capture projects due to longer repayment terms and exemption from federal taxes.

Identical legislation was introduced April 5 in the U.S. Senate.

The National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative, a coalition that supports increased use of carbon capture technology in the U.S., said in a news release that the combination of bonds and the 45Q federal tax credit "can unleash private capital to scale up further deployment of carbon capture and bring costs down."

At a February event hosted by the Global CCS Institute, advocates urged both companies and governments to invest capital in developing the technology.