Notice

Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 competition: Call 2 successful projects

Updated 28 June 2023

Use of CO2 capture to enhance low carbon fertiliser manufacture

Led by CCm Technologies Ltd in partnership with Perlemax Ltd and Reepel Ltd - £699,627.83

CCm Technologies is an award winning cleantech company, focused on resource optimisation and Carbon Capture and Usage (CCU). CCm’s technology converts captured carbon dioxide and other waste streams (such as ammonia and phosphate) into stable value-added materials with multiple uses across global priority sectors of food/agriculture, advanced materials and energy storage. CCm Technologies will partner with Perlemax and Reepel to combine technologies to produce a high-volume carbon capture approach, that utilises waste streams to produce a sustainable, environmentally beneficial, high-nutrient content fertiliser. Perlemax is an award-winning technology company focussing on enabling technologies which includes ammonia recovery through novel microbubble separation. Reepel’s award-winning proprietary algal bioreactor technology ensures increased nutrient recovery, increased biomass production and carbon capture by leveraging proprietary unit operations for production and downstream separation to achieve the project objective of 1tonne-per-day CO2 capture. Outputs from Perlemax and Reepel can be integrated into the CCm sustainable fertiliser process to provide a fertiliser pellet with a lower carbon footprint than mineral and organo-mineral fertiliser alternatives. Recalcitrant carbon stored within the fertiliser is sequestered into the soil (>50 years), improving soil health, and removing CO2e emissions, enabling a broader, more commercially viable approach to carbon capture deployments.

Developing inorganic carriers to create net-zero concrete

Led by Concrete4Change Limited - £696,150.10

Concrete is the most used material on earth after water and currently accounts for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. Concrete4Change (C4C) is developing patented technology that takes CO₂ and permanently locks it into concrete as the safest method for CCUS. C4C’s inorganic carrier technology is applicable in structural and non-structural ready-mix and precast applications. The sequestration (usage) of CO₂ results in the strength enhancement of concrete; hence, reducing the amount of cement content of concrete required to achieve standard recipes. Both CO₂ sequestration and cement reduction can contribute to the reduction of the concrete’s carbon footprint. C4C’s technology has the potential to mitigate 2 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2040, the equivalent of total annual EU CO₂ emissions.

Monolithic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for carbon capture

Led by Immaterial Ltd - £501,790.73

Post-combustion carbon capture currently uses amine-based technologies that face challenges with solvent degradation, corrosiveness, and high energy penalties. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of highly tuneable nano-porous materials with great potential in capturing carbon. However, the development of the traditional powdered form of MOFs has been limited by its high production cost and poor structural stability. Immaterial is a UK advanced materials and process engineering company specialised in MOFs and has developed a unique, patented technology to produce monolithic MOFs – MOFs densified into pure crystals. This allows us to produce MOFs at a large scale and obtain materials that can withstand harsh conditions. This project leverages our material and process design technologies to design a carbon capture demonstrator for the removal of carbon from flue gas streams, and we will identify, develop, and optimise the most suitable monolithic MOFs and MOF-coated structured adsorbents for carbon capture. In parallel, we will model bespoke systems with the aim of reaching > 96% purity, > 90% recovery, maximum productivity and competitive carbon avoided cost. We will then experimentally validate the developed model with collaborators to derive the final parameters for the design of a demonstrator unit.

Carbon sequestration in the built environment

Led by Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine - £986,176.28

This project seeks to further develop and scale a new carbon sequestration process which transforms waste CO₂ gas from industrial facilities into valuable construction products. Sequestered CO₂ through this process is cheaper than conventional approaches that rely on purification, liquification and offshore or geological storage. The CO₂ is stored in the form of a stable mineral which ensures they will be no leakage over time. The patent-pending technology involves taking globally abundant magnesium silicate minerals and splitting this into magnesia and silica components. Through simple chemical processing two products of high purity are created: a) an amorphous silica that can be used as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) to facilitate low-carbon concrete and b) a concentrated magnesium solution in which CO₂ from industrial flues can be sequestered to produce other construction materials. This CCUS Innovation 2.0 award will be used to increase our technology and commercial readiness level by de-risking and facilitating the development of a pilot facility, in order to demonstrate that the technology is economically viable and deployable at scale.

Innovative high temperature sealing solution for supercritical CO₂ power cycle

Led by John Crane UK Limited in partnership with Cranfield University and The University of Edinburgh - £924,895.86

Supercritical CO2 power cycles are a novel process currently under consideration across the energy sector, including for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). Compared with conventional steam-driven systems, they boast higher cycle efficiencies, reduced emissions and compact turbomachinery, resulting in reduced fuel and water consumption and lower capital expenditures. Through this project, John Crane aims to develop an innovative, uncooled high-temperature dry gas seal solution for supercritical CO2 power cycles by using new simulations, material compositions and testing validations. This innovation, expected to work at high temperatures and pressure values, should significantly reduce leakages and potentially even enable the inclusion of an additional turbine expansion stage. Through a supercritical CO2 cycle efficiency improvement, overall emissions will be significantly reduced, cutting the cost of CCUS and accelerating the adoption of supercritical CO2 power cycles into existing and future power plants.

UNICORN - Efficient MOF based pilot unit for CO₂ filtration

Led by MOF Technologies Limited in partnership with The University of Sheffield - £666,525.00

MOF Technologies Ltd (trading under the name “Nuada”) is a vertically integrated carbon capture company that is poised to decarbonise heavy industries through its next-generation point-source capture technology by overcoming the major adoption barriers of traditional CO₂ scrubbing solutions. The company has developed ultra-energy efficient CO₂ filtration machines by combining advanced solid sorbents called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with mature vacuum swing technology. This combination represents a step change in carbon capture innovation and yields a “heatless” and “solvent-free” carbon capture process that slashes the associated energy penalty and cost of capture, paving the path for zero carbon emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. In this project, Nuada will collaborate with the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC) at the University of Sheffield to showcase the in-field capture performance and game-changing energy benefits of its next-generation technology in real waste-to-energy (WtE) flue gas streams.

Project DRISCO₂Well – De-risking CO₂ storage wells

Led by Net-Zero Geosystems Limited - £542,188.70

The DRISCO₂Well project focuses on the development of advanced simulation tools to de-risk subsurface wells for CO₂ geological storage. Resilient subsurface wells are essential to ensure the injected CO₂ reaches the target geological reservoir safely and remains sealed indefinitely. This project develops and validates technologies to accurately predict the integrity loss of wells over their lifetime. The comprehensive suite of tools developed by DRISCO₂Well will enable the optimisation of new well designs for cost and safety and the assessment of existing wells for CO₂ storage repurposing. By utilising these tools, stakeholders will access vital information to minimise the risk of integrity loss, protect against aquifer contamination, avoid injection pressure loss, and prevent potential well leaks into the atmosphere. Net-Zero Geosystems’ transparent and evidence-based approach will instil confidence in the safety of CO₂ storage projects for regulatory bodies, the industry and the general public. The widespread use of the tools will lead to significant cost reduction, increase public acceptance and accelerate the deployment of commercial CO₂ storage.

CarboNation: Integrated carbon capture and usage via caustic-carbonate pathways

Led by Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Ltd in partnership with Newcastle University and The Centre for Process Innovation - £947,672.84

CarboNation is a collaborative research and development project that brings industry and academics together to try to solve challenging industrialisation problems for carbon footprint reduction in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturing. The project will aim to capture CO₂ from industrial waste gas streams and utilise this to make useful starting materials to create circular and sustainable loops for everyday products. Procter & Gamble (P&G) will lead CarboNation – using its manufacturing expertise to design and test the carbon capture and usage (CCU) integration to its manufacturing processes. This should reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and minimise the carbon footprint of ingredients, whilst providing circularity in the manufacturing process. The School of Engineering at Newcastle University, a world leader in intensified modular process technology, will optimise the reactor used to capture CO₂ from flue gas in the dry laundry spray drying process, converting it to sodium carbonate that can be used in the production of dry laundry products. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) will support the project with expertise on materials processing and undertake an economic and lifecycle assessment of the end-to-end process.

An External Advisory Board will provide links to other industries interested in the technology.

MONET – MOF-based negative emissions technology

Led by Promethean Particles Ltd in partnership with The University of Nottingham - £445,848.15

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly viewed as an essential climate mitigation tool. MONET involves the design and fabrication of a prototype CCS unit utilising metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the carbon capture medium. The unit will be installed and operated at Drax’s CCUS Incubation Site, demonstrating the effective separation of CO2 from flue gas. MONET will demonstrate a minimum CO2 capture capacity of 0.5 t CO2/day, up to a potential 3.0 t CO2/day, by repeatedly adsorbing and desorbing CO2. MOF-based CCS is a next generation technology that aims to overcome several limitations of traditional solvent-based CO2 capture; energy inefficiency, waste production, aerosol emissions, and restrictive operating footprints. The industrial use of MOFs has been historically constrained due to a misconceived lack of scale and cost viability. Promethean’s technology uniquely overcomes these challenges. A successful demonstration of the MONET unit will significantly de-risk the application, paving the way for broader adoption of CCS technologies. Using real data from Drax trials, lifecycle analysis (LCA) and technoeconomic assessments (TEA) will be conducted. This will be compared to data from alternative CCS technologies where known or publicly available. With the innovation validated, business case development and commercial exploitation can be accelerated beyond the project timeframe.

LightARC - algae remediation of CO₂

Led by Remediiate (UK) Ltd in partnership with Swansea Univeristy and Vale-Europe Ltd - £2,126,795.00

Microalgae are one of the most powerful tools for abating CO₂ in the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis they consume CO₂ to produce valuable biomass. This can be used as a sustainable alternative in animal feed by displacing soybean grown in cleared rain forests. Although growing microalgae is well understood, its efficient and economic production at scale is not. Current technologies (such as tubular bio-fences) are focused on the small-scale production of the high value chemicals extracted. Remediiate (Rii) has developed technology to resolve the challenges. Its modular technology uses proprietary submersible lighting to create a small footprint, automated process that can be co-located within an emitter’s facility for direct connection to their flue gas stacks. Industry is excited by Rii’s technology, before it can be deployed at large scale customers need to see the system moved from its current technology readiness level TRL7, to TRL8. Rii will work with Vale Europe Limited and Swansea University to test a commercial scale process and produce final designs and investment needed to handle all 36,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from Vale’s nickel processing operations.

UK BECCS-MCFC: Next generation CCUS technology for net zero 2050

Led by The University of Sheffield in partnership with The University of Leeds - £711,418.04

This project will demonstrate the potential of biomass energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) for wide-spread deployment. Currently, CO₂ is captured from flue gases, produced from biomass combustion, using solvents. This is called post-combustion capture, PCC. Solvent-based PCC requires energy which results in a loss of efficiency. An alternative, emerging PCC technology centres around a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) system. An MCFC system generates power (and heat) from a second fuel source, at the same time as it separates CO₂ and removes NOx from the flue gases with optionality of producing Hydrogen if required. This BECCS-MCFC project, will prove the MCFC technology for separating CO₂ from biomass-derived flue gases, and also its flexibility for power, heat and hydrogen production for the widespread deployment of BECCS-MCFC in the UK. The BECCS – MCFC Project (TRL 3-6) will develop and showcase a novel commercially viable technology options for BECCS, suitable for deployment at scale.