WASHINGTON, D.C. – New federal resources have been awarded to Babcock & Wilcox in Barberton to develop the next generation of clean coal technologies by reducing the costs of carbon capture when coal is burned. The funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. The funds will be made available for Babcock & Wilcox to develop advanced oxy-combustion technologies for carbon capture that can be applied to new, retrofitted, or repowered coal-based power plants.

“Ohio companies, including Babcock & Wilcox, are leading the way in developing next-generation technology needed to bring good-paying jobs to our state and end our dependency on foreign energy sources and clean up our air,” Brown said. “This type of cutting-edge research and development can help make Ohio the center of 21st-century energy and economic development.”

According to the Department of Energy, Babcock & Wilcox will use the funds to further the development of the Ohio State University’s coal direct chemical looping process (CDCL). The CDCL process consists of a unique moving bed reactor where pulverized coal is fully converted using iron-based oxygen carriers. This reactor design and reaction pathway of CDCL process allows for retrofit, repowering or Greenfield installation with significant reduction in the cost of oxygen production. The Department of Energy released funding to Babcock & Wilcox, among other recipients—including the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus—to develop advanced oxy-combustion systems that can achieve at least 90 percent carbon removal at less than $25 per ton.

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