The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) recently announced $29 million in federal funding for 12 research and development projects.
Five projects will focus on developing and testing technologies such as engineering and advanced process control approaches to address non-greenhouse gas emissions in the context of carbon capture. Three of these five projects will be tested at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC).
The DOE funding will concentrate on two carbon management priorities. First is converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into environmentally responsible and economically valuable products. And second, developing lower-cost, highly efficient technologies to capture CO2 from industrial sources and power plants for permanent storage or conversion.
National Carbon Capture Center connections
The NCCC provided initial planning and letters of support for the three technology developers. Once the pending awards complete final negotiations, the NCCC will begin the project onboarding process. During the past few years, the NCCC has successfully built strong working relationships and collaborated extensively with the three project development teams.
InnoSepra plans to demonstrate, at a pilot scale, a flue gas purification process for removing acids, acid gases and aerosols responsible for amine degradation and emissions.
RTI International will test an acid wash recovery process to reduce amine emissions from a broad set of point-source CO2 capture technologies, including aqueous amine and water-lean solvents.
University of Kentucky Research Foundation intends to test approaches to remove and capture secondary emissions from aqueous CO2 capture process, including volatile compounds.
In addition to the three project teams currently coming to the NCCC for testing, the NCCC has direct working relationships with four other groups receiving funding from this latest round of DOE awards. The NCCC has previously tested technologies from TDA Research Inc. and American Air Liquide Inc. and is currently initiating plans to test technologies from TDA Research and Washington University in St. Louis in the future. Auburn University has directly worked with the NCCC in the past but has not yet tested at the facility. DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), under the purview of FECM, will manage the selected projects.
The National Carbon Capture Center – a trusted partner
“The additional DOE funding speaks volumes to the transformative work of our scientifically diverse staff, innovative technology developers and valued sponsors,” said John Northington, director of the NCCC. “Most of these emerging carbon management technologies have benefited greatly from our teams’ critical role in moving these technologies through the early stages of laboratory development, real-world testing, pilot- and large-scale demonstration to commercial deployment.”
The NCCC is managed and operated by Southern Company and funded by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and multiple sponsors.
“The deployment of carbon capture and storage creates an opportunity to reduce emissions of additional pollutants beyond carbon dioxide, as well as to convert captured carbon emissions into environmentally beneficial products,” said Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. “The projects announced today leverage university and industry expertise to help advance the commercialization of transformational carbon capture and conversion technologies that have the potential to deliver cleaner and more sustainable energy and products.”
Meeting a net-zero-emissions goal
The 12 carbon management research and development projects will help construct the foundation for a strong U.S. CO2 conversion and permanent storage industry. Accelerating the development of these carbon management technologies will help the United States meet its ambitious climate goal of achieving a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050 and establish the groundwork for a successful carbon capture, storage and conversion industry in the U.S.
“Our staff continues to build on lessons learned through increased knowledge, hands-on experience and enhanced data from ongoing NCCC testing,” said Northington. “Working closely with our technology developers and sponsors, our staff serve as advisors and educators guiding the development process.”
The National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) is recognized worldwide for accelerating the development of carbon management technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The NCCC’s highly specialized team advances emerging technologies for deployment, assists in moving carbon management technologies to scale-up and then helps usher the technologies to successful commercial deployment.