Innovation grant awarded for development of low-cost carbon capture technology

A research and development grant worth almost £900,000 (US$1.3m) has been awarded to a consortium led by Carbon Clean Solutions Limited (CCSL), a global leader in low-cost carbon dioxide separation technologies.

The grant was awarded by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for research into further lowering the cost of carbon capture technology. It was awarded based on preliminary research performed in 2016 by CCSL and the University of Newcastle, which outlined the potential for further development of carbon capture technology. CCSL will use the grant to build a large-scale carbon capture testing facility at the University of Sheffield and the facility will be the first integrated plant of its kind.

 CCSL launched the world’s first fully commercial carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) plant in India in 2016. The project captures carbon dioxide at US$30/t, which is much lower than the US$60-90/t capture costs usually observed. It is hoped that the BEIS grant can be used to lower this cost to US$20/t.

 Prateek Bumb, CTO and co-founder of CCSL, said: “This grant is a testament to the importance of developing affordable carbon capture technology, which can be rolled out on a large scale. This technology will play a crucial role in helping the UK meet its energy targets. It’s really encouraging that the UK government continues to recognise the importance of the work we are doing in this area”.