Alstom, StatoilHydro and TCM in strategic partnership to pioneer CO2 capture on fossil fuel power plants
Alstom has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with StatoilHydro on behalf of the partners of the European CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) for a chilled ammonia (carbonate) CO2 capture plant at TCM in Norway.
The demonstration plant will be the first one of its kind to treat flue gas from a gas-fired power plant.
StatoilHydro ASA is the operator of the project and has signed the EPC contract on behalf of the TCM’s three partners, Gassnova SF, StatoilHydro ASA and A/S Norske Shell.
Alstom will supply and install the demonstration plant, due to be operational in November 2011, which will use the company’s chilled ammonia post-combustion technology to capture CO2 from the flue gases of a combined heat and power plant at Mongstad. It will also treat flue gases from a petroleum processing plant at the nearby Mongstad refinery, which has a CO2 output equal to that of a coal-fired power plant. The test results will consequently be of relevance to both gas- and coal-fired power plants.
The TCM facility at Mongstad is the largest planned demonstration facility of its kind with an annual capacity to capture of up to 100,000 metric tonnes of CO2, of which Alstom’s chilled ammonia technology will have the capacity to capture 80,000 metric tonnes per year, the equivalent of 40 MWt, or equivalent to the annual C02 emissions of approximately 33,000 cars.
“This project, masterminded by our R&D and engineering experts, represents an important milestone for Alstom’s chilled ammonia capture technology on the road to full commercialisation by 2015,’’ said Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power.
“The main goal of testing chilled ammonia is to qualify the technology for the large-scale treatment of flue gases, while at the same time developing a cost- and energy-efficient solution,” said Tore Amundsen, the managing director of TCM. “That is why the contract signed with Alstom today is an important step forward for TCM.”
The CO2 demonstration project is particularly significant given the importance of Norway’s role as a gas exporter. Norway is the second largest exporter of gas to the EU after Russia, supplying more than 15% of the European gas market.
Alstom is at the forefront of carbon capture technology development. In recent months, as part of its multi-product strategy, the company has announced agreements with AEP, The Dow Chemical Company, E.ON, PGE Elektrownia, StatoilHydro, Total, TransAlta, Vattenfall and We Energies to test CO2 capture technologies in Europe and North America. To date, Alstom has started operation at several CO2 capture pilot projects, including projects with We Energies in the USA, E.ON in Sweden and Vattenfall in Germany.
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