CycloneCC has been launched by Carbon Clean, a global leader in cost-effective industrial carbon capture. At the heart of this technology is the rotating packed bed. The innovation is a breakthrough for the sector – bringing the technology within reach of many more industrial emitters and shifting the economics of carbon capture.

Carbon Clean have worked closely with Newcastle University on its development, funding two major projects and numerous smaller studies, on its development.

Dr Jonathan Lee, Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University's School of Engineering, said: “The scientific consensus is that carbon capture is a key technology in reducing CO2 during the energy transition and possibly beyond. Until now the additional costs of carbon capture have limited its deployment. CycloneCC lowers the cost of CO2 capture to $30 per tonne on average by integrating a low energy capture solvent from Carbon Clean with new CO2 absorber technology from Newcastle University.

“The rotating packed bed absorber, developed in Chemical Engineering at Newcastle, reduces the size and hence the cost of the equipment required to capture the CO2. The launch of low-cost CO2 capture will accelerate its deployment in energy intensive industries like cement manufacture, which is currently responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions.”

World’s smallest industrial carbon capture solution

The size of carbon capture technology has been a significant barrier to adoption. Earlier this month, a Decarb Connect survey of hard-to-abate industries – Scaling up CCUS – market insights – found that space remains a major concern and that industries need to be able to integrate carbon capture solutions within their existing footprint.

CycloneCC has a footprint that will be ten times smaller than conventional carbon capture, making it easily deployable in less than eight weeks. The solution will also reduce capex and opex by up to 50%, driving down the cost of carbon capture to $30/tonne on average – a cost that is well below the current EU carbon price and makes the economic case for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) undeniable.

Co-founder & CEO of Carbon Clean, Aniruddha Sharma said: “With many industrial plants having limited space, the biggest barriers to widespread CCUS adoption have been the size and cost of existing technology. Carbon Clean is breaking down these barriers with the world’s smallest industrial carbon capture solution. CycloneCC is the next generation of technology that will make carbon capture simple, affordable, and scalable – bringing it within reach of a huge number of industrial emitters, especially those with small to mid-size emission point sources.”

It will be impossible to reach net zero without a huge uptick in CCUS – the International Energy Agency has stated that CCUS capacity deployment must be 50% higher than currently predicted trajectories if the world is to reach net zero by 2050 (CCUS in Clean Energy Transitions, September 2020). CycloneCC is set to make this achievable and play a significant role in helping industrial companies realise their net zero ambitions.

UK Energy & Climate Change Minister, Greg Hands said: “We want the UK to be a world leader in developing and deploying Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage technology, which will be a critical tool in decarbonising industry and ensuring our manufacturers remain internationally competitive.

“Backed by £5 million of government funding, Carbon Clean’s innovative new technology will help make the widespread industrial adoption of carbon capture a reality, supporting UK industries to decarbonise while attracting new investment as we work towards ending our contribution to climate change by 2050.”

The technology has been successfully pilot tested at 1 TPD in the UK and US and is currently being commercialised at 10 TPD and 100 TPD with select partners, including CEMEX and Veolia, for final product roll out by summer 2022 and market roll out in 2023.

In the UK, Carbon Clean is currently demonstrating a pilot plant at Doosan Babcock’s Emission Reduction Test Facility (ERTF) in Renfrew, Scotland, working with Newcastle University, the University of Sheffield, and with support from the UK government.

Whilst in the US, a Department of Energy sponsored project known as ROTA-CAP, led by GTI in Chicago, tested Carbon Clean’s next-generation solvents and the rotating packed bed (RBP) process on a mobile development skid which has since been moved to the National Carbon Capture Center.

With COP26 getting underway, CycloneCC will shift the conversation around industrial decarbonisation. This next generation technology will drive down the cost of carbon capture to the point where all essential heavy industries, such as cement and steel, can play their part in mitigating climate change.

Adapted with thanks from Carbon Clean