Highlights
RCO2 is a Norwegian chemical engineering and technology company established in 2006. We have developed a unique patent pending chemical process which recycles CO2 from any combustion flue gas and converts it into natural gas (methane). The natural gas can be fed back to the combustion process and thus significantly increase fuel efficiency while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions.
RCO2 has verified the concept in lab, and is currently initiating pilot projects in North America and Norway. We expect 1-2 years of research and development before the technology is thoroughly tested and proven. Industrialization and up scaling of products require additional 1-2 years before commercial products are available for the global market.
Unique patent pending technology
The technology is based on a unique process for production of hydrogen by decomposing water (present in a combustion flue gas) at low temperature levels. The produced hydrogen reacts with CO2 and produces methane through the known process of methanation. The methanation process is designed by the Company to handle the high concentrations of CO2 in combustion flue gases. The complete process is patent pending in the most important markets after receiving a positive statement from the PCT authorities.
The technology has impressive customer value propositions. Without any externally added energy, the process itself can:
- Recycle up to 60 % of the CO2 into fuel
- Which represents an equivalent of 60 % reduction in fuel consumption
- Which results in an electrical efficiency of over 80 %
High growth market with high activity and attention
Global energy consumption is expected to grow strongly the coming years, and fossil fuels will continue to be the most important source for the foreseeable future. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion have alarming effects on the environment, and emission reducing solutions and technologies are highly demanded.
Our technology can in principle be used with all combustion processes, but the primary market application will be large point sources like power plants. Unlike competing technologies, the technology is not only limited to power plants and the following markets can also be targeted:
- Generator systems used in e.g. off-grid electricity generation or utility grid support systems
- Natural gas and dual fuel engines used in mobile applications (e.g. cars, ships etc)
In the power plant market, our technology has substantial economical advantages for the power plant operators and owners:
- Reduce fuel consumption with up to 60 % for same electrical production output
- Reduce CO2 emissions significantly which makes it possible to trade CO2 quotas while simultaneously satisfying environmental/political demands and restrictions
Superior to competing solutions
One of the major initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions is to capture CO2 from power plants based on fossil fuels. When captured, the CO2 can be permanently stored away from the atmosphere. Storage is envisaged in deep geological formations (e.g. petroleum wells), deep ocean masses or mineral carbonates. This Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) approach has received major interest from both industry and research communities, and several test facilities are under development.
However, while having potential for capturing up to 90 % of the emitted CO2, the CCS approach have fundamental weaknesses regarding energy efficiency and uncertainty with long term storage of CO2:
RCO2 technology CCS Fuel consumption Reduction with up to 60 % Capture and compressing process increase fuel consumption with 25-40% Electrical efficiency Over 80 % Approx. 45 % when implemented in a modern combined cycle power plant Direct CO2 reduction Up to 60%. By supplying additional hydrogen, over 95 % CO2 can be removed. Up to 90% (in situ) Transportation and Storage No need for transportation and storage The transportation and storage process will require a substantial amount of energy, as this is
a relatively untried concept in industrial scale. The storage of CO2 also has safety risks regarding gas leakage from the storage area
Our technology is superior to CCS with regards to energy efficiency, while being competitive on CO2 reduction. The reduction in fuel consumption and high electrical efficiency makes our technology a far better economical and environmental solution than CCS. In addition, the technology has potential of significantly lower investment cost than CCS implementations.