ALSTOM, SIEMENS MOVE TO CONCEPT TESTING PHASE FOR MONGSTAD PROJECT

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
11/16/12

Alstom and Siemens announced this week that they will both be completing concept studies for their respective post-combustion CO2 capture technologies as part of the vetting process for Norway’s large-scale carbon capture and storage project planned for Mongstad. The technology manufacturers have been vying to be selected as the carbon capture technology vendor for the future demonstration project, set to begin construction in 2016. The respective announcements indicate that the vendors have moved into the third phase of testing under the project’s technology qualification program. Established last year by project operators Statoil and Gassnova, the Norwegian government-owned enterprise for CCS, the program is vetting five post-combustion capture technology vendors over the course of several rounds to find the best fit for the project. Under this concept phase, vendors must draw up a potential plant design for the facility incorporating their technologies. The competitors previously completed feasibility work and pilot-scale testing as part of the program as well. This third and final phase is expected to wrap up in April.

Alstom is currently testing its chilled ammonia capture technology at the nearby Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM) under the qualification program, while Siemens has been vying for a test slot at the facility as well for its PostCapTM capture process, which utilizes an amino-acid salt solution as a solvent. The pair join Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which announced last month that its KM CDR Process(R) capture technology had qualified for the third phase of the program. The two other technology providers selected for the qualification program, Aker Clean Carbon and Huaneng-CERI Powerspan, have not yet announced publically whether their technologies have qualified for the third phase of testing. Requests for more information from Statoil and Gassnova were not returned as of press time.

Final Investment Decision Expected in 2016

The vendors are competing to retrofit a combined-heat and power plant that has been in operation since 2010 at Statoil’s Mongstad oil refinery on the west coast of Norway. Once complete, the CCS project is expected to generate 350 MW of heat and 280 MW of electricity and capture 1.5 million tons of CO2 annually for storage in a deep saline aquifer. A final investment decision and project construction have been planned for 2016, with the plant expected to come online by 2020.

The qualification process has prompted a very public selection process for the project, which has been delayed in recent years. While Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg once described Mongstad as the equivalent to the country’s “moon landing,” the government has repeatedly delayed making an investment decision on the project in recent years, most recently due to concerns about the potential toxicity of emitted amine solvents after they degrade in the atmosphere. Also adding to uncertainties were recent press reports indicating that Statoil was considering closing its Mongstad refinery—and along with it plans for the CCS demonstration project—due to higher than expected operating costs and overcapacity in the oil market. However, Statoil officials emphasized that despite the refinery facing substantial financial difficulties, operations will continue and that the CCS plans are safe.