RWE Power, BASF and Linde to cooperate on CO2 capture technology

RWE Power, BASF and The Linde Group today agreed to develop new processes for CO2 capture from combustion gases in coal-fired power plants. The co-operation will comprise the construction and operation of a pilot facility at the lignite-fired power plant of RWE Power AG in Niederaussem to test new developments and solvents from BASF for the capture of CO2 - so-called CO2 scrubbing. Linde will be responsible for the engineering and the construction of the pilot facility.

The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies - which promise to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants by up to 90% - is important to the bioenergy community in that they can be applied to biomass fuels, thus opening the prospect of radically carbon-negative energy production. Such 'bio-energy with carbon storage' (BECS) systems are seen as the most realistic energy systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global and drastic scale (earlier post and here). Scientists have studied the concept in the context of 'abrupt climate change' scenarios, and found the technology - if implemented worldwide which would require the establishment of vast energy plantations - can be seen as the most cost-effective, safe and viable 'geo-engineering' option (more here).

BECS-systems take historic CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere; if implemented globally, they could take us back to pre-industrial CO2 levels by mid-century. Only biomass combined with CCS can yield carbon-negative energy and fuels; all other renewables are carbon-neutral at best and merely prevent new emissions. BECS systems clean up our past.

The fossil fuels industry will develop CCS technologies first because it has the money and means to do so, after which they should be applied to biofuels as soon as possible.

Pilot plant
The purpose of the pilot facility to be run by RWE Power is the long-term testing of new solvents with a view to gaining an understanding of processes and plant engineering to improve CO2 capture technology. The goal is to apply CO2 capture commercially in lignite-fired power plants by 2020. The new technology should enable to removal of more than 90 per cent of CO2 from the combustion gas of a power plant and then subsequently to store this gas underground.

Once pilot tests have been completed successfully, the companies will decide on a subsequent demonstration plant in 2010. This will be designed to provide a reliable basis for the commercialisation of the new process. RWE Power has earmarked a budget of approximately €80 million for the development project, including the construction and operation of the pilot facility and demonstration plant.

RWE Power, Germany's largest energy company, is designing all its new coal-fired power plants so that they can eventually be equipped with the CO2 capture technology that is currently being developed with BASF and Linde. The aim is to set up not only highly modern plants from 2020 onwards, but also virtually carbon-neutral coal-fired power plants including storage.

Apart from the so-called CO2-scrubbing method, RWE Power is also developing the first carbon-neutral coal-fired power plant with CO2 transport and storage, based on the integrated gasification combined-cycle process (IGCC). This large-scale 450-MW plant is due to come on stream in 2014, although no decision has yet been taken as to where it should be located. With a view to climate protection, RWE Power has also decided to expand renewable energies throughout Europe, with the focus on generating electric power from water, wind and biomass.

CASTOR: European carbon capture project
RWE and BASF have been involved in the CASTOR project since early 2004, a research project that is sponsored by the European Union (EU) and which seeks to find methods to remove CO2 from combustion gases and to store it:
energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: carbon capture and storage :: bio-energy with carbon storage :: climate change ::

The project is also supported by a number of prestigious European universities, research institutions, public authorities and industrial enterprises, including several renowned power plant operators, oil and gas companies and plant manufacturers.

We are accepting the challenges of climate protection and want to be proactive in pushing all the available options for the reduction and avoidance of CO2. We are confident that, together with our partners, we will soon be developing the process of CO2 capture to commercial maturity so that this technology can be deployed in new and existing modern coal-fired power plants in the future. - Dr. Johannes Lambertz, Board member of RWE Power with responsibility for fossil- fuelled power plants

According to Lambertz there is agreement among experts that coal will continue to be an important pillar in the global energy supply for decades to come. This is why the companies have set up a long-range CO2 avoidance strategy: building the most efficient coal-fired power plants in the world, and developing a new generation of power plants for tomorrow, with an efficiency of over 50 per cent.

RWE Power is the largest German electricity producer responsible for the Group's generation of electric power in Germany as well as in Central/Eastern Europe. RWE Power uses a wide range of energy sources: lignite from open-cast mines in the Rhineland and nuclear energy for the base load, as well as hard coal, gas and renewable energies such as water, wind and biomass for medium and peak loads. RWE Power and its subsidiaries employ a workforce of over 17,000, both in Germany and abroad.

BASF conducts worldwide research on products to conserve resources and energy. By entering into this collaboration with RWE Power and Linde, we are contributing our wide-ranging expertise in CO2 capture technology. Our research is seeking to find a suitable solvent for the efficient capture of CO2. - Dr. Stefan Marcinowski, research representative and Board member of BASF.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF's high-value products and intelligent system solutions help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to meet the challenges of the future and open up additional market opportunities.

This promising co-operation of three responsible major companies can provide an important impetus to climate protection. It is the aim of the Linde Group to help reduce emissions wherever possible. Our activities include continuous efficiency improvements of our plant designs for the benefit of our customers, CO2 capture methods as well as expedient recycling systems and the production of environmentally friendly alternative fuels. - Dr. Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG.

The Linde Group is a leading gases and engineering company with around 49,000 employees working in more than 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group plc, the company has sales of around 12 billion euro per annum.

Image: RWE Power AG's brown-coal fired power plant in Niederaussem, which will run the trials with BASF's carbon capturing solvents. Credit: RWE Power.