Southern Company has announced an agreement for Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute to join the Carbon Capture International Test Center Network, a global coalition of facilities working to accelerate the research and development of carbon capture technologies.
The National Carbon Capture Center, a U.S. Department of Energy research facility managed and operated by Southern Company, leads and serves as host site for the network.
Located in Beijing, the Clean Energy Research Institute is a subsidiary of China Huaneng Group, the largest power generation company in the world based on total installed capacity.
The institute engages in a wide range of clean energy research and development, including carbon capture, utilization and storage, coal gasification, renewable energy and emissions reduction technologies.
Southern Company executive vice president and chief operating officer Kimberly S. Greene said: "The addition of the Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute to the network broadens the abilities of Southern Company and its research partners to develop next-generation carbon capture technologies, which are critical for a cleaner energy future.
"We look forward to working with DOE and network members to continue the development of real solutions that will advance 21st century coal technologies on the international stage."
Formed in 2012, the International Test Center Network facilitates knowledge sharing among carbon capture test facilities around the world.
The National Carbon Capture Center currently chairs and operates the network with DOE's Office of Fossil Energy, a role previously held by Technology Centre Mongstad of Norway. Located in Wilsonville, Alabama, the center works with scientists and technology developers from government, industry and universities to evaluate, demonstrate and advance emerging carbon capture technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-based power generation.
The members of the International Test Center Network are:
CO2CRC, Australia
CO2 Technology Centre Mongstad, Norway
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia
Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, China
Korea Institute of Energy Research, Korea
National Carbon Capture Center, United States
SaskPower, Canada
SINTEF Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research, Norway
UKCCSRC Pilot-Scale Advanced Capture Technology, United Kingdom
Uniper Technologies Limited, Germany
As an industry leader in robust, proprietary research and development, Southern Company has managed approximately $2.1 billion in R&D investments since the late 1960s.
The Southern Company system's environmental R&D also includes conducting the nation's largest demonstration of carbon capture on a pulverized-coal power plant at subsidiary Alabama Power's Plant Barry, and the development of Transport Integrated Gasification – or TRIG – the 21st century coal technology at the center of Southern Company subsidiary Mississippi Power's Kemper County energy facility.
The Kemper project is designed to generate electricity from low-rank coal with resulting carbon emissions better than a similarly sized natural gas plant. TRIG and other proprietary technologies were developed at the National Carbon Capture Center.