Aker Solutions wins Norcem carbon capture study contract

Aker Solutions has won a contract for concept studies at Norcem's cement production facility in Brevik, and Yara International's ammonia plant on Herøya, Norway.

Norcem and Yara are among three companies in the running to receive funding from the Norwegian government to build and operate a full-scale carbon capture plant at their respective facilities. The government aims to fund at least one of the plants, which would be operational by 2022.

"Perfecting carbon capture will be key to meeting global climate goals," said Luis Araujo, chief executive officer at Aker Solutions. "The confidence placed in us by both Yara and Norcem shows we are taking a leading role in this crucial technological push."     

Aker Solutions has previously carried out extensive testing with a pilot capture plant at the factory in Brevik. The results were so promising that Norcem selected Aker Solutions' technology to be used for a potential facility at the cement factory in southeast Norway, Aker said in a statement.

The study for Norcem will design a carbon capture plant that's integrated with the cement factory, including a process to turn the CO₂ into liquid and storage facilities that can be used before shipping. The plant will have a capacity of about 400,000t of CO₂ a year. Both concept studies are set to be completed in September this year.

Aker Solutions has since 2008 developed and qualified an improved carbon capture technology, investing extensively in research and development, testing and operations. The company has gathered experience through design, construction and two years of operations of the amine plant at Technology Centre Mongstad and carried out extensive tests in the US, the UK and Norway using its mobile carbon capture pilot plant. The Paris climate agreement has spurred increased international interest from several industries, including ammonia and cement production.