Linde to Receive R+D Grant for its Carbon Capture Project in Alabama

The Linde Group has been chosen by the US Department of Energy to secure a $15 million research and development grant for the enhancement of CO₂ capture technologies.

The Linde Group will build a pilot plant in Wilsonville, Alabama. The facility, scheduled for operation by early 2014, will test innovative CO₂ scrubbing solutions to decrease the expenditures and energy intake of sophisticated carbon capture and separation systems utilized for the coal-fired power facilities.

The pilot facility will be engineered to capture at least 90% of the generated CO₂ at a raise in the electricity cost of merely 35%. Current technologies can add as high as 80% to the electricity cost. Linde will build the new facility based on its experience in the development of a similar facility in Niederaussem, Germany.

At the Niederaussem facility, the company in partnership with BASF and electricity supplier RWE, tests novel CO₂ scrubbing solvents. These post-combustion capture technologies decrease the emissions of CO₂ considerably as it can be integrated into the existing power facilities.

Dr Andreas Opfermann, who leads the Clean Energy and Innovation Management unit of Linde, stated that sophisticated CO₂ capture systems for power facilities is vital in reaching global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The company witnesses a growing demand for energy-saving clean coal solutions particularly in the North American region, he said. The US Department of Energy grant will strengthen Linde's presence in this prospective sector in the US, he added.