Carbon Clean wins innovation category at first international CCUS awards

Carbon Clean

BRITISH engineering firm Carbon Clean has won the innovation category at the first international carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) awards.

The UK-based Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) said Carbon Clean’s capture technology “has the potential to make carbon capture more accessible, repeatable and scalable”. It announced the award-winners in London this week as part of the trade group’s annual conference. 

Carbon Clean’s modular set-up, called the CycloneCC, uses a centrifuge and proprietary amine-promoted buffer salts to capture CO2 from industrial flue gas. The company says its set-up is around half the size of conventional amine-based plants that use large absorber columns, and it achieved commercial scale last year, capturing 285 t/d of CO2 in tests.

Meanwhile, the CCSA also awarded the rising star prize to Aalborg University researcher Sulafa Abdalmageed Saadaldeen Mohammed for her “commitment to advancing direct air capture, carbon utilisation and international collaboration”. Awards also went to the two joint ventures forming the UK’s East Coast Cluster of CCUS projects: the Northern Endurance Partnership, a project between BP, Equinor and TotalEnergies developing CO2 transport networks throughout Humber and Teesside; and Net Zero Teesside, a planned gas-fired power plant with integrated carbon capture run by BP and Equinor. 

In total, five of the ten categories were won by UK-based companies or projects. Four awards went to projects or individuals based in mainland Europe and one went to a North American project.

Olivia Powis, chief executive of the CCSA, said: “The International CCUS Awards celebrate the people and projects turning ambition into action and demonstrating what a strong CCUS sector can deliver. Congratulations to all the winners and those shortlisted for all their hard work in advancing the sector worldwide. The depth of innovation and expertise across our sector, both in the UK and internationally, is clear. We must build on this momentum to ensure CCUS delivers lasting economic and environmental benefits for generations to come.”

Business in India

The awards came in the same week as Carbon Clean accompanied UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on an official trade visit to India – the country of Carbon Clean’s 2009 incorporation before moving to London three years later. During the trip, Carbon Clean commissioned a new 2 t/d pilot plant at its global research centre in Navi Mumbai. 

Co-founder and CEO Aniruddha Sharma said commissioning the plant “demonstrates the two-way value of the UK-India relationship”, as the London-headquartered company targets Indian steel and fertiliser plants. 

Reynolds said: “Carbon Clean is a great example of the innovation and expertise we have here in the UK being put to work on some of the biggest challenges facing the world.

“Its partnership with Indian businesses shows how British ingenuity can help cut emissions, create opportunities and support cleaner growth both at home and abroad.”

Carbon Clean has benefited from a series of six- and seven-figure grants from the UK government, including an almost £900,000 investment in 2018 for research and development.