Linde to Secure US Department of Energy Grant for CO2 Capture Technology Advancement

The Linde Group will secure a research and development grant worth $15 million from the US Department of Energy to advance CO₂ capture technologies.

The Linde Group will build a pilot plant in Wilsonville, Alabama. The facility, slated for operation in the beginning of 2014, will test innovative CO₂ scrubbing solutions to decrease the expenditures and energy intake of sophisticated carbon capture and separation systems utilized for 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 concluded.