Those interested in taking part in the $20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition have until Friday to register and submit their entries. The competition, which is open to the public and seeks innovative ways to use carbon dioxide, consists of two tracks: one that will test developmental technologies on emissions from a coal-fired power plant and one that will use emissions from a natural gas-fired power plant.
Two winning projects, one in each track, will both receive a grand prize of $7.5 million. The remaining $5 million in prize money is a “milestone purse,” or an interim award, of $500,000 each for five projects from each track that make it to the final round of testing.
The competition will consist of three rounds. All registered teams are invited to participate in the first round, which will consist of the submission of a technical and business viability assessment. A panel of judges will review the entries and 15 teams in each track will advance.
Round two will begin on Oct. 15 with the announcement of semifinalists. The teams will then conduct pilot-scale demonstrations through Aug. 15, 2017. During this time, teams will demonstrate their technologies in a controlled environment using simulated power plant flue gas. At the close of round two, five teams from each track will be selected to move on to round three. The finalists will be announced in December 2017 and will receive $500,000 as in interim award.
Round three will begin in December 2017 and run until February 2020. This round will consist of a demonstration-scale competition, during which teams will have access to two test centers adjacent to existing power plants and must prove their technologies using actual power plant flue gas. Following the close of round three, teams will be scored on CO2 conversion levels and the net value of their product. A grand prize winner in each track will be selected in March 2020.
Interested teams can register and submit their projects on the XPRIZE website.
