New government funding for carbon capture research project
A University of Leeds research collaboration, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has received major government funding.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has provided over £700,000 for the UK BECCS-MCFC: Next Generation CCUS Technology for Net-Zero 2050 project, led by the University of Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC).
In partnership with Leeds, the research will model the potential role of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) in carbon capture and storage applications for bioenergy, while also evaluating their techno-economic benefits.
The Leeds team will be led by Professor Jenny Jones of the School of Chemical and Process Engineering, and Professor Tim Cockerill from the School of Mechanical Engineering, who will work closely with colleagues at Sheffield to develop engineering-based lifecycle and techno-economic assessments (LCA-TE) of MCFCs under several different configurations.
Professor Jones said: “We’re really pleased to be involved in such an important project with both the government and our partners at Sheffield. Together, we hope to deliver a major innovation in engineered carbon dioxide removal and negative carbon energy processes.”
This funding, announced at the Climate Innovation Forum, comes as part of the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio to provide funding for low-carbon technologies and systems. The Portfolio aims to decrease the costs of decarbonisation and help enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.
