Hitachi and SaskPower Announce Partnership to invest $60 million CAD on Test Facility for CO2 Capture Technology in Saskatchewan

Hitachi and SaskPower will jointly construct a Carbon Capture Test Facility ("CCTF") which will be a part of SaskPower’s larger “Clean Coal Project”, which is a comprehensive initiative to select and apply emerging carbon capture technologies to coal fired power plants to manage their emission of greenhouse gases. The CCTF will allow international developers to fully evaluate performance of their systems to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired thermal power plants.

Hitachi will provide equipment to capture CO2 which will be installed at SaskPower’s 298 MW Shand Power Station, located near the city of Estevan in South-East Saskatchewan. SaskPower and Hitachi will jointly invest $60 million CAD to cover the cost of the project. SaskPower will be the owner/operator of the project. Construction will begin in late 2012 or early 2013, with a scheduled completion date of summer 2014. Hitachi will supply their skilled process development team, as well as core process equipment from their Saskatoon manufacturing facility.

While the demand for electric power is increasing in Canada, power companies are being required to implement countermeasures against global warming, including measures to suppress CO2 emissions, and to reinforce these initiatives, Canada is currently promoting the development of CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage) technology and the implementation of demonstration projects as a national strategy. SaskPower, in line with this initiative, is currently constructing a world leading, large CO2 capture and storage demonstration project at the Boundary Dam Power Station. Hitachi was selected to supply the steam turbine and generator for this carbon capture and storage demonstration project and will build the crucial system that is needed to efficiently supply the steam required for the CO2 capture and storage equipment.

Hitachi began researching and developing technology to capture CO2 in the 1990s and since then, the company has conducted demonstration projects using its own research equipment as well as domestic and overseas pilot facilities. SaskPower’s experience in integrating CCS into commercial projects combined with Hitachi’s expertise in Carbon Capture Technology will contribute to a comprehensive evaluation and demonstration of the equipment’s overall reliability, economic feasibility, and the necessary properties to scale-up to a large, commercial-scale facility. Hitachi will produce and supply its CO2 capture solvent (H3-1) and the main equipment for the facility. Babcock-Hitachi K.K. (President: Tetsuro Wakino) and Hitachi Canadian Industries Ltd. (President and CEO : Tom Kishchuk) located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan will be in charge of production and supply.

Hitachi is also deepening its collaboration with the province of Saskatchewan through exchange activities sponsored by the Japan Coal Energy Center and the Coal Division of the Natural Resources and Fuel Department of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and will further endeavor to contribute to this mission.

The CCTF demonstration project will capture 120 tons/day of CO2 through a chemical scrubbing capture process.

Source: Hitachi and SaskPower Press Releases