Low-cost carbon capture technologies from China to soon find use in the USA

Thanks to a 3-year agreement between China and US companies for a research cooperation.

China Huaneng Group, China's largest power producer, and the U.S. firm Duke Energy have signed a new, three-year agreement expanding their research cooperation in advanced coal and carbon capture and sequestration technologies.

In 2009, Huaneng Group developed a facility that economically captured 120,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year emitted from the 1,320-megawatt coal-fired Shidongkou power station in China.

The expanded agreement with Duke Energy calls for an engineering study to determine the potential feasibility of applying Huaneng Group's low-cost carbon capture process at Duke Energy's Gibson Station in Indiana.

Funding for the project will be provided by the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC), which was established by the two countries in 2009 for such collaborative endeavors.

"The carbon capture technology is well-proven, and cost-effective," said Jiang Minhua, assistant president of China Huaneng Group. "We are keen to work with Duke Energy in exploring the feasibility of large-scale carbon capture, utilization and sequestration."

Duke Energy is the third largest electric power holding company in the United States based on kilowatt-hour sales. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 11 million people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

China Huaneng Group has total installed capacity of over 125GW in 2011, making it No.1 in China, and No.2 in the world in terms of installed capacity. It is an integrated energy company primarily focused on power generation.