A NextGen student team working with Calpine delivered this February 2025 final presentation on a cost-effective path to carbon capture at natural gas power plants. Calpine's James Henahan and Carl Herman sponsored the work. The team evaluated 41 amines and capture technologies and built a tool to estimate absorber column costs.
Key points
- Capture at gas plants costs more than other carbon capture applications because flue gas holds only 3 to 4% CO2.
- About 7 of the 41 technologies met the team's criteria, including ICE-31, Entropy23 solvent, chilled ammonia, HPC-based capture, AIP and MUF-1 MOF.
- Modular absorber columns can reduce capital costs by up to 15%, and combining optimized amines with better absorber design lowers capture cost by up to 25%.
- The existing 45Q incentive of $85 per ton is not enough to cover all-in costs, and its future beyond 2032 is uncertain.
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