A next-generation carbon capture project being developed on an incubation site at Drax Power Station has been awarded government funding.
Promethean Particles is looking to advance metal-organic frameworks-based negative emissions technology, and has been working with the energy giant for the past year on Project Monet.
The University of Nottingham spin-out has been allocated backing from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which aims to accelerate the development of technology. It uses a solid material over chemical or solvent-based solutions, and is described as being more energy intensive.
Read more: Drax adds its weight to calls for faster action on UK's Net Zero targets
James Stephenson, chief executive at Promethean, said: “We are extremely proud that Project Monet has been chosen by DESNZ as one of the winners of this competition. Carbon removal is now a necessity in limiting the devastating effects of climate change. MOF-based carbon capture can help enable broader adoption of this critical technology.
“Our manufacturing technology uniquely enables the production of these exciting materials at the scale and cost necessary to make them a viable industrial solution. I would like to thank the Drax team for their continued support of our technological advancement. The incubation area is a huge help in the application development of MOF-based CCS systems.”
The incubation site has previously hosted a carbon capture project by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Leeds-based company C-Capture. Drax plans to use MHI’s carbon capture technology for its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage power plants, including its proposals to develop two units on-site.
Jason Shipstone, chief innovation officer at Drax Group, said: “Congratulations to all at Promethean Particles and Project MONET on securing this award from DESNZ. We have a strong relationship with Promethean and we are pleased to continue to support their work at our CCUS incubation site at Drax Power Station.
“Scientific consensus is increasingly clear – the planet cannot solve the climate crisis without carbon removals. Providing we secure the right support from the UK Government, our ambition is to harness what we have learned piloting carbon removals technologies in North Yorkshire and create two BECCS units at Drax Power Station which could remove eight million tonnes of CO2 per annum from our atmosphere.
“We are excited by the opportunities for MOF-based carbon capture and this new project will help us better understand the performance and future applications for the technology. MOFs have the potential to be deployed to help decarbonise Drax’s supply chain and contribute to our mission of enabling a zero carbon, lower cost, energy future.”
