Foster Wheeler Consortium Gets CO2 Capture Contract
A consortium including UK-headquartered Foster Wheeler Energy Limited has entered into a technical services agreement with E.ON UK plc to perform the pre-front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) for a post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture plant proposed as part of E.ON's new supercritical coal-fired power station in Kent, England, United Kingdom.
Foster Wheeler's consortium partner for the project is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) of Japan.
The Foster Wheeler contract value for this project was not disclosed and will be included in the company's second-quarter 2009 bookings.
E.ON is planning to replace its existing coal-fired units at Kingsnorth Power Station with two new high efficiency units using the latest "supercritical" technology to produce power from coal more efficiently and cleanly. The work to be undertaken by the Foster Wheeler/MHI consortium will support E.ON's application to the UK Government for funding of a carbon capture and storage demonstration project. The CO2 capture plant will be designed to separate and capture CO2 from the flue gas generated by the coal-fired units, enabling the CO2 to be transported and stored permanently within a depleted gas reservoir under the North Sea, rather than being released into the atmosphere.
Foster Wheeler's scope of work is for pre-FEED including the development of the project schedule and cost estimate that will form the basis for project sanction and the subsequent engineering, procurement, and construction phase. The project is expected initially to capture approximately 2 million tonnes per annum of CO2, with provisions for future expansion.