The project is planned for the Nebraska Public Power District’s Gerald Gentleman Station in Sutherland, Lincoln County, to test its greenhouse gas emissions-limiting technology that Ion said could achieve greater CO2 capture rates while using less power plant energy as compared to other solvent systems in development.

Ion and its partners, including the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center and the University of Alabama Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, will contribute another $US4 million in matching funds, giving the 45-month project a total of $US19 million.

The company already received $US5 million from DOE Fossil Energy to develop the advanced process.

It demonstrated its achievement over the past year, working alongside the EERC and using its coal and natural gas-fired combustion test facility.

“By providing an affordable path to carbon free coal and natural gas-generated power, we can have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions worldwide,” the company said.

Ion Engineering CEO Dr Alfred “Buz” Brown said that, by providing an affordable path to carbon free coal and natural gas-generated power, it could have a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions around the world.

“The results obtained at the EERC demonstrate that Ion’s advanced solvent has the potential to significantly reduce capital costs, operating costs and the parasitic load on an operating power plant that implements Ion’s technology,” he said.

“When combined with CO2 utilisation opportunities such as enhanced oil recovery, we can imagine a time when the incremental cost of carbon free fossil fuel electricity generation may be much less than previously considered.”

NPPD vice president and chief operating officer Tom Kent added that it had been interested in being involved with the project because its coal burning generating resources brought it significant value.

“We also want technologies that can capture CO2 in a cost-effective manner,” he said.

“Testing such technologies should be done on a larger scale to collect ‘real world’ data.”

Ion’s processes were suitable for post-combustion capture carbon from coal and gas-fired power plants as well as pre-combustion natural gas treating, the company said.