GE Gas Power was awarded $5.7 million from the US Department of Energy for a front-end engineering design study into carbon capture, utilisation, and storage applications for power generation.
The funding from the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management will be used for a study that intends to capture about 95% of carbon dioxide emissions and reach commercial deployment by 2030.
The study will be focused on the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant, operated by Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company. The plant is powered by two GE 7F gas turbines, which is part of the largest gas turbine fleet in North America.
“We are committed to leading a more sustainable power industry that will provide the world with the affordable, reliable, and less carbon-intense electricity it needs today, while maintaining laser-focused on researching, developing, and demonstrating the technologies that will be required for the future,” said Scott Strazik, chief executive of GE Power.
GE plans for this FEED study to set a precedent for future CCUS projects on existing natural gas power plants.
GE will research how to integrate the combined cycle power plant with Linde’s Gen 2 carbon capture solution based on BASF OASE blue technology, while reducing the impact of the carbon capture process on the power plant’s output, performance, and equipment cost.
Kiewit will provide engineering procurement construction capabilities.
“For the success of this study, the collaboration with Southern Company and Linde, BASF and Kiewit is crucial,” said John Catillaz, director of decarbonisation — marketing at GE Gas Power.
“To develop a sustainable and viable carbon capture solution integrated into the existing power plant, we will go beyond the scope of the study to consider the economics and the performance of the plant holistically, including a plan for the transportation and storage of the captured carbon dioxide emissions.”
Additional awards
The Department of Energy separately awarded another $175 million for 68 clean energy technology projects Monday from its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. The projects cover a variety of subjects, including electric vehicles, offshore wind, storage, and nuclear recycling.
“Universities, companies, and our national labs are doubling down on advancing clean energy technology innovation and manufacturing in America to deliver critical energy solutions from renewables to fusion energy to tackle the climate crisis,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
Of the many projects receiving funds, a few involve developing efficient and low-cost fuel cells for trucks other cars, electrifying aviation, and developing anchoring methods for floating wind turbines.
This funding is the fifth instalment of ARPA-E’s OPEN programme; the previous instalments awarded more than $600 million to 225 projects in solar, geothermal, batteries, and biofuels.
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