Carbon Capture Costs: FEED & pre-FEED Cost Reports

Calpine Texas CCUS Holdings LLC, with Electricore Inc., is conducting a FEED study for a modular post-combustion CO₂ capture system at the Deer Park Energy Center NGCC plant in Texas. Using Shell’s commercial-scale amine technology, the system will capture 95% of emissions—about 5 MTPA—while maintaining low energy use and fast reaction rates. The study will include business case, techno-economic, life cycle, environmental, and public policy analyses, including environmental justice and job creation impacts.

The CEMEX Balcones Carbon Capture project is a DOE-supported Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study evaluating commercial-scale deployment of RTI International’s non-aqueous solvent (NAS) technology at the Balcones cement plant in New Braunfels, Texas. The study assessed capture of approximately 2.4 million tonnes of CO₂ per year at roughly 95% capture efficiency from cement kiln flue gas and an associated natural gas–fired boiler, developing an AACE Class 3 cost estimate and detailed engineering design to support future investment decisions. Led by RTI International with KBR as EPC engineering contractor and SLB Capturi as owner’s engineer and technology licensor, the project evaluated integration challenges such as limited cooling water availability, resulting in a hybrid air- and water-cooling configuration. The FEED estimated total project capital costs of about $849 million and annual operating costs of approximately $109 million, providing a techno-economic basis for large-scale cement decarbonization and future project execution planning.

Electricore Inc., with Svante Inc. and Kiewit Engineering Group Inc., is conducting a pre-FEED study for a 1 million tonnes/year VeloxoTherm™ carbon capture system at LafargeHolcim’s cement plant in Florence, Colorado. The system will capture CO₂ from both kiln flue gas (14% concentration) and a natural gas-fired steam generator (8.5% concentration), with storage options including saline formations, depleted oil reservoirs, and the Sheep Mountain CO₂ reservoir. The study will also evaluate expansion to 2 million tonnes/year and target DOE’s $30/tonne capture cost goal, progressing from design selection (FEL-1) to pre-FEED engineering (FEL-2).