ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy have announced plans to collaborate in the development of a carbon capture solution using carbonate fuel cells.
The two firms believe that integrating two technologies – natural gas-fired power plants and carbonate fuel cells – would help to substantially reduce the cost of carbon capture, leading to a more economical pathway towards large-scale global application.
"Carbon capture with carbonate fuel cells is a potential game-changer for affordably and efficiently concentrating carbon dioxide for large-scale gas and coal-fired power plants," said Chip Bottone, president and chief executive officer of FuelCell Energy, Inc. "Ultra-clean and efficient power generation is a key attribute of fuel cells and the carbon capture configuration has the added benefit of eliminating approximately 70 per cent of the smog-producing nitrogen oxide generated by the combustion process of these large-scale power plants."
The two companies will initially work for one to two years investigating ways to further increase the efficiency of separating and concentrating carbon dioxide from the exhaust of natural gas-fuelled turbines. The second phase of the collaboration will involve more comprehensively testing the technology for another one to two years in a small-scale pilot project prior to integration at a larger-scale pilot facility.
According to FuelCell Energy, two years of comprehensive laboratory tests have demonstrated that the integration of carbonate fuel cells and natural gas-fired power generation captures carbon dioxide more efficiently than existing scrubber conventional capture technology. The potential breakthrough comes from an increase in electrical output using the fuel cells, which generate power, compared to a nearly equivalent decrease in electricity using conventional technology.
The resulting net benefit has the potential to substantially reduce costs associated with carbon capture for natural gas-fired power generation, compared to the expected costs associated with conventional separation technology. A key component of the research will be to validate initial projected savings of up to one-third.
ExxonMobil is a leader in carbon capture and sequestration and has extensive experience in all of the component technologies of carbon capture and storage, including participation in several carbon dioxide injection projects over the last three decades. In 2015, ExxonMobil captured 6.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide for sequestration — the equivalent of eliminating the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 1 million passenger vehicles.
"We are continually researching technologies that have an ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions," said Vijay Swarup, vice president for research and development at ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company. "Most solutions that can make an impact of the scale that is required are not found overnight. Our research with FuelCell Energy will be conducted methodically to ensure that all paths toward viability are explored."
