GLOBE-Net, November 10, 2010 - A small Quebec
City-based company - CO2 Solution - has developed a patented
enabling technology for the efficient capture of carbon dioxide
(CO2), the most important greenhouse gas (GHG), from power plants
and other large stationary sources of emission.
The technology uses the enzyme, carbonic anhydrase-the fastest
known catalyst for carbon dioxide absorptions, which VP of Business
Development Jonathan Carley likened to "an industrial lung."
"We use basically nature's best solution to this problem," he
said. The enzyme is industrially optimized and introduced into
conventional carbon dioxide scrubbing technology. It is used to
accelerate carbon dioxide absorption in the system, which the
company said results in lower process costs.
Once the CO2 is captured, the enzyme assists in subsequent
production of pure CO2 for underground storage and/or use in oil
recovery. In this way, the Company has taken advantage of a
biomimetic approach to CO2 capture based on millions of years of
evolution.
Conventional CO2 capture with available technology, based
primarily on the use of amine solvents, is an energy intensive
process that involves heating the solvent to high temperature to
strip the CO2 (and regenerate the solvent) for underground
sequestration.
The conventional use of amines involves an associated capture
cost of approximately US $60 per ton of CO2, which represents
approximately 80% of the total cost of carbon capture and
sequestration (CCS). This large cost for the capture
portion has, to present, made large scale CCS nonviable.
As an innovative solution to this problem, CO2 Solution has
achieved significant results in applying the enzyme to conventional
capture solvents (amines and others) to improve their
performance. These results point to the ability of the enzyme
to materially lower the cost of carbon capture by allowing a
reduction in the size of the absorber equipment and lowering
process energy requirements.
CO2 Solution is presently commercializing its technology for
coal-fired power generation, the oil sands and other CO2-intensive
industries where a low-cost capture solution is key to meeting
climate change legislation in a cost effective manner.
The 16-employee firm has raised about $20 million and is
currently seeking $10 million for initial field demonstrations of
its technology, Carley said. The company raised a $1 million
private placement in 2006.
A commercial launch is expected in 2013, with the company
planning to sell its technology through engineering, procurement
and construction partners. It's also seeking additional strategic
partners, with one agreement already underway with Codexis, Inc., a
California-based company.
In May 2010 Codexis was selected to receive up to a $4.7 million
from the U.S. Department of Energy, for the development of
innovative technology, in collaboration with CO2 Solution, to
remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant emissions.
In July this year, the first joint public presentation on the
CO2 Solution technology was made at the 4th Annual Carbon Capture
and Sequestration Business Summit in Washington, DC by James
Lalonde, Ph.D., Vice President of Biochemistry and Engineering
Research and Development, Codexis and Jonathan Carley, Vice
President, Business Development, CO2 Solution.
Glenn Kelly, President & CEO of CO2 Solution, was the former
President & COO of Rabaska Inc., a subsidiary of Gaz Metro, Gaz
de France and Enbridge Inc. Previously, Mr. Kelly was
President of Intragaz Inc., a company specializing in the
development and operation of underground natural gas storage
facilities.
As the search for less costly methods for the capture and
storage of carbon dioxide continues, technologies such as those
developed by CO2 Solution will become more interesting to investors
and large scale utility operators.
Clearly, CO2 Solutions is an innovators to watch.