Kaita Biomass Power CO2 Capture Project

The Kaita Biomass Power CO₂ Capture Project is a carbon capture pilot initiative in Japan focused on demonstrating post-combustion CO₂ removal from flue gas at a biomass-fueled power plant operated by Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (KEPCO) in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). MHI installed and commissioned a CO₂ capture pilot plant at KEPCO’s facility in Hyogo Prefecture using its Kansai Mitsubishi Carbon Dioxide Recovery (KM CDR) Process™ technology with advanced amine-based solvents. The pilot system is designed to extract CO₂ from the plant’s flue gas stream, capturing on the order of about 5 tonnes of CO₂ per day to support research, performance validation, and refinement of next-generation CO₂ capture technologies for biomass and other power generation sources. The project leverages decades of joint development between MHI and KEPCO — building on the KM CDR Process and the improved KS-21 solvent for higher energy efficiency and lower degradation — and integrates remote monitoring systems to collect operational data and accelerate technology development. Demonstration testing at the Kaita pilot plant supports advancement of cost-effective, scalable carbon capture solutions for biomass and other thermal power applications, contributing to decarbonization strategies in Japan’s energy sector and to broader commercialization of post-combustion capture technologies.