ec-Solv Carbon Capture - Qualification Project

Carbon (CO2) capture and storage, CCS, is receiving substantial interest due to the urgent need for massive decarbonisation of industrial sectors, particularly hard-to-abate industries (cement, Waste to Energy - WTE, metallurgy, etc.). Solvent-based CO2 capture has successfully reached market commercialisation, achieving acceptable maturity for industrial deployment. However, its reliance on conventional fossil fuel-based boilers to supply the substantial heat requirement for solvent regeneration increases its energy costs and the technology's CO2 intensity, thus hindering its prospects for rapid industrial deployment. The eC-Solv technology is a revolutionary approach developed by SINTEF for the electrification of solvent-based CO2 capture. It replaces the boiler-based energy supply in those systems with a heat pump recovering low-grade heat existing in the plant (adsorber/absorber, compressors, flue gas, etc.) and upgrading it for use in solvent regeneration. Vacuum is jointly applied with the temperature swing to reduce the temperature difference between the carbonation and regeneration, thus maximising the heat pump's energy efficiency. Despite its simplicity and its easy plug-and-play nature, the concept's technical implementation affects column sizing, operating temperature and pressure, and solvent/sorbent choice, thus requiring a perfect understanding of the non-linear interaction of the different design aspects. This project aims to align the technology technical prospects to the market's growing opportunities, creating a strong business model for rapid commercialisation and industrial deployment.