BASF, RWE, Linde target CO2 capture in coal-fired power plants

 London - BASF AG, RWE Power and the Linde Group are to jointly develop new processes for CO2 capture from combustion gases in coal-fired power plants. Under a joint venture, the trio will construct and operate a pilot facility at the RWE's lignite-fired power plant in Niederaussem, Germany, to test new developments and solvents from BASF for CO2 scrubbing. Linde will be lead on the engineering and the construction of the pilot plant.

“We are confident that, together with our joint venture 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,” said Dr. Johannes Lambertz, board member of RWE Power with responsibility for fossil-fuelled power plants.

“BASF conducts worldwide research on products to conserve resources and energy. By entering into this joint venture 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,” said Dr. Stefan Marcinowski,  of the BASF board and its research executive director.

The JV can provide an important impetus to climate protection, added Dr. Aldo Belloni, board member at Linde AG. “Our activities include ongoing efficiency improvements at our facilities for the benefit of our customers, CO2 capture methods as well as powerful recycling systems and the production of environment-friendly alternative fuels.”

The pilot facility is to carry out 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 and to remove more than 90% of CO2 from the combustion gas of a power plant and then subsequently to store this gas underground.

The partners then expect to decide on a subsequent demonstration plant in 2010. This, they said, will be designed to provide a reliable basis for the commercialisation of the new process. RWE has earmarked a budget of around Euro80 million for the development project, including the construction and operation of the pilot facility and demonstration plant.

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

"We are already designing all our modern 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 must be to set up not only highly modern plants from 2020, but also virtually carbon-neutral coal-fired power plants including storage.”

Apart from the CO2-scrubbing method, RWE 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.

RWE also plans to expand renewable energies - water, wind and biomass - throughout Europe. It has been involved in the CASTOR project with BASF 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.