RTI International Awarded $1 Million from ARPA-E for Transformational Energy Technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.  — RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, was recently awarded nearly $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding will be used to adapt two advanced CO₂ capture solvents to develop a cost-effective, load-following advanced CO₂ capture process for natural gas power plants.  

“RTI is very excited about this opportunity with ARPA-E and the project team to optimize an advanced solvent process with lower energy consumption to natural gas plants to increase their resiliency in a power grid with increasing renewable power," said Marty Lail, PhD, senior director of Carbon Capture and Conversion at RTI.

The project’s objective is to develop a CO₂ capture process that maximizes the net present value of the electricity sale by minimizing the levelized cost of electricity under dynamic plant loads and high renewable penetration environments. The two key innovations proposed are the use of advanced water-lean solvents and process intensification equipment.

The project also seeks to engage with power producers and other stakeholders to ensure its technical relevance and techno-economic viability.  The development of this highly disruptive CO₂ capture technology could accelerate the industry adoption and thereby lower the greenhouse gas emissions of the U.S. power sector

RTI is leading the project in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact, Electricity Power Research Institute, and West Virginia University. The project team brings together leading experts in advanced CO₂ capture solvents, dynamic process modeling, and electric power plant cost analysis.

The award was given by ARPA-E’s FLExible Carbon Capture and Storage (FLECCS) program, developing carbon capture and storage technologies that enable power generators to be responsive to grid conditions in a high variable renewable energy penetration environment.

For additional information about RTI International and this project, please visit www.rti.org/energy