Aker to build £81m carbon capture plant
Plant will have a capacity to remove 100 ktpa of CO2 from exhaust gasses and could come on stream by 2009, the Norwegian group announced 28 Jan.
Oslo - Aker is investing NOK875 million (£81 million) to build a new CO2 capture plant, which will have a capacity to remove 100 kilotonnes of CO2 annually from exhaust gasses. The facility, which is based on Just Catch technology developed by Aker Kværner, could come on stream by 2009, the Norwegian group announced 28 Jan.
The project will be led by Aker's recently formed subsidiary Aker Clean Carbon, which is now to operates as a 70/30 joint venture between Aker and Aker Kværner. Facility investments, said Aker, are estimated at about NOK 725 million, while operating costs are estimated at NOK 150 million over a three-year period.
Aker Clean Carbon aims to build its first facility near the natural-gas-fired power plant and gas processing facilities at Kårstø in southwest Norway. By connecting the carbon-capture plant to both emission sources, continuous CO2 removal can take place, even if the gas-fired power plant is shut down for periods. However, in its first years in operation, carbon dioxide from the CO2 capture facility will be released to the atmosphere until a public system for transporting and storing CO2 is in place.
”We will initiate dialogue with relevant public authorities and Kårstø owners to discuss connection to their plants. Aker Clean Carbon will be responsible for the construction and operation of the carbon capture plant," said Martinus Brandal, Aker Kværner, president and CEO and the incoming chairman of Aker Clean Carbon. "To the extent that such a facility is entitled to public funding, we will, of course, apply for it."
Aker Clean Carbon plans to participate in the construction of several CO2 capture facilities in Europe over the next few years. "Several opportunities have been identified, and it is likely that Aker Clean Carbon’s carbon capture facility will be installed at a coal-fired power plant," the company stated.
The JV is to bid for the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract and, eventually, the construction of a full-scale CO2 capture facility at Kårstø. The FEED contract is expected to be awarded in May, while an overall contract for building the facility will be awarded in 2009.
”Work on our own carbon capture facility will not get in the way of the plans for an additional full-scale facility. The latter will be completed several years later,” according to Brandal.
Aker Clean Carbon is also focusing on the development of new aqueous amine solutions, which function as an absorbent that binds CO2 for removal from exhaust gasses. Amine scrubbing will be used in Aker Clean Carbon’s first carbon capture facility.
