FuelCell Energy and Exxon Mobil announced that they have selected a Southern Company’s power plant in Alabama to test their fuel cell carbon capture technology.
A 2.7 gigawatt mixed-use coal and gas-fired power plant the James M. Barry Electric Generating Station, operated by Southern Company subsidiary Alabama Power, will host pilot plant tests of the technology.
The technology, which is being developed by FuelCell Energy and Exxon Mobil, uses carbonate fuel cells to concentrate and capture carbon dioxide streams from power plants.
FuelCell Energy president and chief executive officer Chip Bottone said: “The fuel cell carbon capture solution we are advancing with Exxon Mobil could be a game-changer in affordably reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants globally.
“The carbonate fuel cell solution uses a proven global platform to generate power while capturing carbon dioxide.”
In May, FuelCell Energy and Exxon Mobil entered into an agreement to conduct tests to demonstrate carbon capture from natural gas-fired power generation.
To concentrate and capture a portion of the carbon dioxide emissions from the power plant, the pilot tests will use FuelCell Energy’s commercial DFC3000 carbonate fuel cell power system.
Flue gas will combine with natural gas in the fuel cells’ air intake system after it is directed into the system from power generation.
The fuel cells concentrate and capture carbon dioxide, which will be compressed and cooled utilizing standard chilling equipment.
The results from the pilot tests are expected to help in testing the technology at a larger scale.
Exxon Mobil Research and Engineering Company research and development vice president Vijay Swarup said: “The world’s growing need for electricity makes it critical to continue finding affordable, scalable ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants to mitigate the risk of climate change.”