Based on the crucial role it is expected to play in helping the UK meet its 2050 climate change targets, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is to receive £23.5 million of funding in a new pilot project aiming to bring down the cost and improve the efficiency of the technology.
In partnership with engineering and construction group
Costain, the
Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) is investing in a
carbon capture pilot plant that will be able to capture 95 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.
The plant, which is expected to be designed, built, operated and tested by mid-2015, will be aimed at pre-combustion carbon capture applications involving CO2 removal by physical separation. According to the ETI, the project will aim to make installing CCS in other plants a more financially viable and sustainable option.
"Current technologies significantly increase the costs of capturing CO2 and reduce the power output or increase fuel consumption," Dr. David Clarke, ETI chief executive said. "This project will develop
technology, which will reduce the costs and increase performance to allow a full-scale, commercially viable facility to be ready for power export by 2020. We expect all new build coal fired power stations will require CCS by 2020 and gas-fired stations will need to be fitted with CCS by 2030."
Two stage development
The project will be carried out in two stages – the first dedicated to the engineering, design and demonstration of the unit, with the goal of gaining better understanding and optimising the performance of the technology.
The second stage will consist of constructing the pilot plant and analysing its results. The ETI said it hopes that this part of the project will encourage investor confidence in carbon capture.
Costain will work with the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College, London, on carrying out the engineering stage of the site, which does not have a final location at the moment.
This
investment puts ETI’s contribution to green energy, including offshore wind, marine, distributed energy,
buildings, energy storage and distribution,
transport, bio energy and CCS, at more than £100 million, the release said. Though further information has not been released, ETI said it will also be commissioning a project to develop and demonstrate carbon capture technologies specifically for gas-fired power stations, set to be announced in 2012.
Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more content like this.
Related content:
