BP, Powerspan in CO2 capture project

BP Alternative Energy and Portsmouth, N.H.-based Powerspan said today they would work together to develop and commercialize Powerspan's carbon dioxide capture technology for power plants.

Pilot scale testing of the amonia-based electro-catalytic oxidation process is expected to begin at FirstEnergy's R.E. Burger plant in Shadyside, Ohio, in early 2008.

"This is an opportunity for BP to broaden the scope of our low carbon power offering by including a CO2 capture technology that is compatible with new and existing coal fired power stations," said Jonathan Forsyth, CO2 Capture Team Leader at BP Alternative Energy.

BP Alternative Energy is a subsidiary of London oil giant BP.

Powerspan said the collaborative agreement covers financial and technical support for pilot demonstration and commercial scale-up activities, but did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The company said the test unit will process a 1 megawatt slipstream, or 20 tons of CO2 per day.

Powersave said the the captured CO2 would be sent for secure, long-term storage deep underground in an 8,000-foot test well drilled at the Burger plant earlier this year.

According to Powersave, initial estimates developed by the U.S. Department of Energy indicate that the ammonia-based CO2 capture process could provide significant savings compared to commercially available amine-based technologies.

In May 2004, Powerspan and the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory entered into a cooperative research and development agreement to develop a cost effective CO2 removal process for coal-fired power plants.

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