Baker Hughes & Woodside Energy's Carbon Capture Investment
Baker Hughes and Woodside Energy, two big players in the global energy market, have announced their intention to collaborate on a new project.
The partnership aims to craft novel, small-scale decarbonisation solutions by tapping into the cutting-edge carbon capture technology developed by Net Power, a company based in the US.
Net Power's technology, which is applied in natural gas power plants, boasts an impressive ability to eliminate approximately 97% of carbon emissions generated during the energy production process.
This collaboration is grounded in a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding and has now evolved into a Technology Development Agreement (TDA) between Baker Hughes and Woodside.
With the backing of Baker Hughes and Woodside, there's a strong pathway for this technology to achieve scaling objectives.
Feasibility and scalability
As the sole provider of the small-scale Net Power platform, Baker Hughes is set to harness its expertise to explore how this technology can be applied across diverse industrial power needs.
The project also considers the integration of additional development partners, aiming to ensure the solution's adaptability to various market requirements.
“This agreement further strengthens our long-standing relationship across the natural gas value chain and our shared journey in the energy transition,” said Julie Fallon, Executive Vice President of Technical and Energy Development at Woodside Energy.
“We are excited to continue our collaboration with Baker Hughes and leverage their leading-edge technology and our combined engineering and CCUS capabilities to explore and develop lower-carbon emissions alternative power solutions using Net Power’s platform.”
The TDA will benefit from ongoing development and testing at Net Power’s demonstration facility in La Porte, Texas, as well as its planned first utility-scale power plant near Midland, Texas.
These efforts will be instrumental in determining the technical and economic viability of deploying the technology at smaller scales.
Net Power's technology
Net Power's unique system combusts natural gas in an environment of pure oxygen instead of air, which results in the production of high-purity CO₂ as a by-product.
This CO₂ can subsequently be captured and either stored or utilised in industrial applications, thereby reducing overall emissions.
The technology is designed to offer reliable and cost-efficient power generation while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Baker Hughes is committed to providing innovative solutions that support the decarbonisation of the energy and industrial sectors, and we are honoured to share this journey with our long-standing customer Woodside Energy,” said Alessandro Bresciani, Senior Vice President of Climate Technology Solutions at Baker Hughes.
“We believe this framework represents the partnerships and collaborations necessary to develop and scale the energy solutions that support decarbonisation while also meeting the world’s growing energy demand.”
Industrial decarbonisation
The collaboration between Baker Hughes and Woodside Energy is set against the backdrop of increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources.
Many industrial processes still rely on natural gas, making the development of carbon capture and low-emission power solutions crucial for reducing their environmental impact.
“Net Power applauds the enhanced collaboration between Woodside and our partner Baker Hughes. This work has the potential to bring our technology platform to a broader array of end markets and applications, complementing our utility-scale programme and strategy,” said Danny Rice, CEO of Net Power.
As energy companies face increasing scrutiny from investors and regulators, partnerships like this signal a broader industry shift towards integrating decarbonisation technologies.
If successful, the small-scale Net Power platform could provide a blueprint for reducing emissions in industrial sectors that have traditionally been difficult to decarbonise.
“Today’s announcement is a tangible commitment to continue technology innovation and market development for the Net Power platform and to bring ultra-low emissions energy solutions to a power-hungry world,” Danny says.
Explore the latest edition of Energy Digital Magazine and be part of the conversation at our global conference series, Sustainability LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Energy Digital is a BizClik brand
