Energy Department Invests $44M in Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies Projects/RNN

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has selected seven projects to receive approximately $44 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development through the funding opportunity announcement, Design and Testing of Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies.

These projects, according to the DOE,  will advance competitive operation of our nation’s fossil-based power-generation infrastructure by reducing energy consumption and capital costs associated with next-generation carbon capture systems. Specifically, the projects will target one of two areas: 1) engineering-scale testing of transformational solvent- or membrane-based carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture technologies, or 2) designing a commercial-scale, post-combustion CO₂ capture system at an existing coal-fueled generating unit.  The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the selected projects.

The following four projects were selected under Area of Interest 1, Scaling of Carbon Capture Technologies to Engineering Scales Using Existing Host Site Infrastructure:

• Scale-Up and Testing of Advanced Polaris Membrane CO2 Capture Technology – Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) (Newark, CA) will scale up next-generation PolarisTM membranes and modules to a final form for commercial use and validate their potential in an engineering-scale field test at the Technology Centre Mongstad in Norway.

DOE Funding: $7,427,258; Non-DOE: $2,400,000; Total Value: $9,827,258

• Engineering-Scale Testing of Transformational Non-Aqueous Solvent-Based CO2 Capture Process at Technology Centre Mongstad – RTI International (Research Triangle Park, NC) will advance its non-aqueous (water lean) solvent-based CO2 capture technology and tests will be performed using the existing large-scale pilot infrastructure at the Technology Centre Mongstad in Norway. This project expands on work conducted with DOE in both the Office of Fossil Energy’s and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s portfolios.
  DOE Funding: $10,000,000; Non-DOE: $13,045,000; Total Value: $23,045,000
• Engineering-Scale Demonstration of Mixed-Salt Process for CO2 Capture – SRI International (Menlo Park, CA) will demonstrate its Mixed-Salt Process at engineering scale, using the existing infrastructure at the Technology Centre Mongstad in Norway. The objectives are to address concerns related to scale-up and integration of the technology in coal-based power plants.DOE Funding: $8,296,403; Non-DOE: $2,100,000; Total Value: $10,396,403.00
• Membrane-Sorbent Hybrid System for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture – TDA Research, Inc. (Wheat Ridge, CO) will design, construct, and operate an engineering-scale 1 megawatt-electric post-combustion, hybrid carbon capture system. This system consists of a polymeric membrane and a low-temperature physical adsorbent to remove CO2 from the flue gases generated by coal-fired power plants. The membrane, developed by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., will be responsible for bulk CO2 removal, while the TDA-developed sorbent will extract additional levels to achieve an overall 90 percent system removal.
  DOE Funding: $8,000,000; Non-DOE: $2,000,025; Total Value: $10,000,025

The following three projects were selected under Area of Interest 2, Initial Engineering, Testing, and Design of a Commercial-Scale, Post-Combustion CO2 Capture System:

• Initial Engineering Design of a Post-Combustion CO2 Capture System for Duke Energy’s East Bend Station Using Membrane-Based Technology – Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) will produce an engineering design and cost estimate of a membrane-based post-combustion CO2 capture system on Duke Energy’s East Bend Station in Kentucky. The project team will create a model that replicates the station’s performance and will be used to estimate the impacts of retrofitting CO2 capture to the plant.
  DOE Funding: $1,625,244; Non-DOE: $406,485; Total: $2,031,729
• ION Engineering Commercial Carbon Capture Design and Costing – ION Engineering, LLC (Boulder, CO) will provide a detailed design and cost estimate for a retrofitted, 300-megawatt-equivalent, commercial-scale CO2 capture facility. The facility is located at Nebraska Public Power District’s Gerald Gentleman Station Unit 2, in Sutherland, Nebraska.

DOE Funding: $2,797,961; Non-DOE: $699,500; Total Value: $3,497,461

• Initial Engineering, Testing, and Design of a Commercial-Scale, Post-Combustion CO2 Capture System on an Existing Coal-Fired Generating Unit – The University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) will design and determine the cost of installing a post-combustion CO2 capture system at the Milton R. Young Station, owned by Minnkota Power Cooperative. The project will design a fully integrated post-combustion CO2 capture system; test a solvent on coal-derived flue gas; and conduct a techno-economic and pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) analysis of the system.DOE Funding: $6,000,000; Non-DOE: $1,500,000; Total Value: $7,500,000

The Office of Fossil Energy funds research and development projects to reduce the risk and cost of advanced fossil energy technologies and further the sustainable use of the Nation’s fossil resources. To learn more about the programs within the Office of Fossil Energy, visit the Office of Fossil Energy website or sign up for FE news announcements. More information about the National Energy Technology Laboratory is available on the NETL website.