Aker Carbon Capture Awarded Milestone Project In The United States

Oslo /PRNewswire/ - CO280 Solutions and a leading pulp and paper company have awarded a carbon capture test campaign to Aker Carbon Capture for an undisclosed site on the Gulf Coast in the US. This test campaign follows a successful pre-FEED performed for the same site. It will enable the full-scale implementation of multiple Just Catch 400 modular capture facilities with permanent storage, and the creation of carbon removal credits. 

Aker Carbon Capture has extensive testing experience, with more than 60,000 operational hours worldwide on multiple industrial flue gases. The company's mobile test unit will now be applied to the pulp and paper industry for the first time. The initial results from the campaign are expected towards the end of 2024, ahead of the project's expected final investment decision.

"We are delighted to work with CO280 and a leading US pulp and paper company to implement their first carbon capture project. This is a robust business opportunity for our customer since it is supported both by 45Q carbon tax credits and additional revenues from the sale of carbon removal credits. With its strong cost and schedule advantages, our modular Just Catch 400 offering is an ideal fit for pulp and paper mills across the US," said Egil Fagerland, Chief Executive Officer at Aker Carbon Capture. "This test campaign signifies a milestone for Aker Carbon Capture's rapid expansion into the significant North American market," Fagerland continued. 

CO280 partners with pulp and paper companies to finance, own, and operate carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects that deliver a new standard of permanent, high-quality, and affordable carbon removal credits to the voluntary carbon market. In May 2023, CO280 entered a long-term agreement with JP Morgan to supply carbon removal credits, in one of the largest carbon removal agreements ever announced. 

"This marks an important first step towards our ambitious goal of scaling-up carbon removal by capturing and permanently storing biogenic CO₂ from the pulp and paper industry. We have selected Aker Carbon Capture based on its proven modular design and deep experience with amine technology, which is a key enabling solution for the carbon removal projects we are developing across the pulp and paper industry," said Jonathan Rhone, Chief Executive Officer at CO280.

The US pulp and paper industry emits approximately 150 million metric tonnes of CO₂ annually, primarily of biogenic origin. By capturing and storing these emissions permanently, one achieves negative emissions, as more carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere than is being emitted from the process. Carbon removals provides an opportunity to not only compensate for hard-to-abate emissions, but also historical emissions, which is crucial to reaching net zero in 2050. Aker Carbon Capture is already enabling the creation of high-quality carbon removal credits through its delivery to Ørsted Kalundborg Hub.

"The pulp and paper industry is a priority market for Aker Carbon Capture in the US and we are exited to collaborate with CO280 to develop this market. The use of carbon capture and sequestration technology provides a financial opportunity to benefit from favorable tax incentives, a chance to support local economic development as these facilities are built locally, and a pathway towards meeting the US' climate goals," said Jonah Margulis, Aker Carbon Capture's Head of North America. "We look forward to continuing to partner with CO280 and other industry leaders to bring our proven technology to pulp and paper mills across the country." 

Aker Carbon Capture's Mobile Test Unit is a complete CO₂ capture plant that includes the company's advanced carbon capture technology where the test results are scalable when implementing full scale plants. Aker Carbon Capture's Just Catch™ modular offering is a standardized product that enables the pre-fabrication of carbon capture units. The company is currently delivering seven carbon capture units: five Just Catch 100 units to Ørsted, one Just Catch 100 unit to Twence and a Big Catch delivery to Heidelberg Materials at Brevik. These flagship projects contribute to the company's development of serial production of carbon capture units providing cost and delivery benefits for the mid-scale emitter market.