The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences program announces its support in fundamental research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels in order to provide the foundations for new energy technologies and to support DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security. Mission relevant research at DOE includes carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Accelerating success in this area, direct air capture of carbon dioxide, would strengthen the foundation for applications that deliver economic stimulus, energy security, or both. Consider the production of liquid fuels from ambient CO2–successful approaches could provide distributed sources of fuel while managing power intermittencies that would otherwise stress inflexible generators or destabilize electric grids.