US unit offers India to co-develop, test carbon capture tech

With India relying heavily on coal-fired power plants to meet its electricity needs, a major US' research facility has offered Indian tech experts, scientists and companies the opportunity to co-develop and test technologies related to carbon capture.
Once these technologies are implemented and proven to be cost-effective, they could lead to significant reductions in the amount of CO2 emitted world-wide, officials pushing for this collaboration argued.
The collaboration offer is part of the overall goal of the Obama Administration to accelerate clean energy revolution.
"We are working closely with India to accelerate its clean energy revolution and address the impacts of climate change in vulnerable communities," a White House official told reporters during a conference call yesterday.

In the next few weeks, Carbon Clean Solutions (CCS), an innovative Indian startup company, is slated to conduct pilot- scale testing of a technology to capture CO2 from power plants and chemical plants.
The technology is a solvent that absorbs CO2 out of the power plant exhaust.

Anirhudda Sharma and Prateek Bumb, young IIT alumni and co-founders of CCS, will work with American counterparts to test the solvent.
The testing will be done at the US Department of Energy's National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), where technologies that can capture CO2 can be proven in an industrial setting.
Since its inception in 2008, the NCCC has identified and tested technologies from developers around the world seeking innovations capable of dramatically improving the cost and performance of carbon capture.

As a result, the NCCC has made significant progress toward more cost-effective carbon capture solutions.
The NCCC has encouraged international collaboration with previous testing of technologies from Norway, Japan and Canada.
The NCCC is managed and operated by Southern Company, an electric utility serving 4.4 million customers in the Southeastern United States.
"Southern Company is developing real solutions to meet future energy needs with clean, safe, reliable and affordable power," Southern Company general manager of research and development Steve M Wilson told PTI.
"An important example of our longstanding commitment to research and development, the National Carbon Capture Center serves as a critical bridge to advance carbon capture technology," Wilson said.

Officials at the NCCC have had two recent trips to India, meeting top Indian officials, and those from the private sector and industries as well.