Mitsubishi installing carbon capture plant in Canada

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHIENG) will deploy its carbon capture technologies at a Canadian power plant.

As part of a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study awarded by power company Capital Power Corp, a CO2 capture plant will be installed at the repowered Genesee Generating Station Units 1 & 2 in Alberta, Canada. The units are owned by Capital Power and incorporate natural gas-fired gas turbines. MHIENG said its Advanced KM CDR Process will be deployed at these stations. The total expected amount of captured CO2 will be approximately 3 million tonnes per year. The captured CO2 will be transported and sequestered underground. For the execution of the FEED study, MHIENG partnered with Kiewit Energy Group Inc., a major North American construction and engineering company.

Capital Power is moving forward with repowering, deploying the GTCC system with MHI gas turbine toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the company’s fuel conversion from coal to natural gas. Operation with this system is scheduled in 2023 and 2024 at Generating Stations 1 and 2 respectively. 

MHIENG (originally MHI) has been developing the KM CDR Process (Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery Process) and the Advanced KM CDR Process in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power since 1990. As of July 2022, the KM CDR Process has been adopted at 14 plants worldwide, and two more are currently under construction. The Advanced KM CDR Process, selected for the current project for Capital Power Corporation, uses KS-21, which is an improvement over amine absorber KS-1 in use at all 14 adopted commercial CO2 capture plants to date. It has the benefits of excellent regeneration efficiency and low deterioration when compared to KS-1, and has been verified to provide excellent energy saving performance, reduce operation costs, and have low amine emissions.

“We are excited to collaborate with MHI Group and Kiewit to advance our Genesee CCS Project,” said Steve Owens, SVP, Construction and Engineering for Capital Power. “The Project is expected to capture 95% of the CO2 emitted from our repowered, best-in-class Genesee 1 and 2 natural gas units. Undertaking this FEED study is a significant step forward in decarbonizing our Genesee Generating Station as we work to power a sustainable future for people and planet.”

Canada, like other global markets including the U.K., Europe and the U.S., is actively promoting the deployment of Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), including through policy and institutional frameworks. Business discussions regarding CO2 capture project have become increasingly active. In May 2022, MHIENG established a branch office in Canada for decarbonization business, enabling it to provide with swift response to customer needs. With our new organization, MHIENG will respond quickly to local market trends for CCUS business using its strong expertise and expand its business in Canada.

Genesee Generating Station (Image: Capital Power Corp.)

MHI Group is currently strengthening its position in the Energy Transition, and the development of a CO2 solutions ecosystem is a core component of that initiative. CCUS is garnering attention as an effective means for realizing a carbon neutral society. MHIENG, as a leading company in decarbonization and key to the group’s strategy regarding Energy Transition, will continue to help achieve wide-scale greenhouse gas emission reduction by introducing its high-performance CO2 capture technology globally. It will also press ahead in developing new solutions to contribute to global environment protection.

Capital Power owns approximately 6,00 MW of power generation capacity at 27 facilities across North America. Projects in advanced development include approximately 385 MW of owned renewable generation capacity in North Carolina and Alberta and 512 MW of incremental natural gas combined cycle capacity, from the repowering of Genesee 1 and 2 in Alberta.