Carbon Capture Costs: FEED & pre-FEED Cost Reports

Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), with Fluor Corporation and California Resources Corporation (CRC), conducted a FEED study to assess the feasibility of retrofitting Fluor’s solvent for post-combustion CO₂ capture at the 550 MW Elk Hills NGCC power plant. The system aims to capture approximately 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ per day (75% of total emissions, or 90% of an 83% slipstream), with the captured CO₂ intended for enhanced oil recovery. Deliverables include the full engineering design package—such as process flow diagrams, equipment datasheets, and capital cost estimates—optimized for site-specific performance, operations, and construction practices.

A Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study was undertaken to design an advanced CO2 Capture Unit (CCU) to produce 1000 tonnes per day of CO2 from the exhaust of three Once-Through Steam Generators (OTSG’s) at Devon Energy’s Jackfish 1 thermal in-situ operations and estimate the capital expenditure for the facilities within +/-15% accuracy. The process utilizes HTC Purenergy Carbon Capture Technology to capture CO2 from the OTSG exhaust gas using an aqueous chemical solvent in an absorber tower, after which the CO2-loaded solvent is passed to a stripper tower where the CO2 is released and the solvent regenerated. The study excludes downstream CO2 compression, dehydration, transportation and storage.

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).