Announcement // Melbourne, Australia, 12 September 2024
KC8 Capture Technologies and University of Melbourne researchers are set to advance their pioneering technology and lead a step-change in carbon capture for hard-to-abate industries in Australia and around the world.
The company has been awarded a $5.4 million grant from the Australian Government’s Carbon Capture Technologies Program (CCTP) to establish an $8.5 million Research and Demonstration Facility for Implementing Net-zero Emissions (ReDeFINE), with the additional funding provided by KC8 Capture Technologies and the University of Melbourne.
ReDeFINE will allow the collaborators to advance KC8’s ‘UNO MK3’ technology, which was developed in conjunction with Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT) researchers to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from higher emitting industries, such as cement, steel, power generation and chemical production.
FEIT Acting Dean Professor Ben Rubinstein said the University was committed to being a leader in the fight to limit global warming.
“The need to take positive climate action has never been more pressing,” Professor Rubinstein said.
“This project exemplifies our commitment to accelerate innovation in sustainability and to champion the development and uptake of practical solutions both on our campuses and in the wider world.”
The test facility will be located on campus in Parkville and will have links to KC8’s revolutionary 10 tonne/day PACER capture plant, located at Cement Australia’s production facility in Gladstone, Qld, to identify updated versions of the technology and undertake an extensive array of R&D activities.
The Melbourne-based KC8 Capture Technologies was founded in 2021 and is rolling out projects in Australia and the USA. Its UNO MK3 system uses a cleaner and cheaper process to absorb CO2 from industrial exhaust gases. Unlike other carbon capture methods, which often rely on harmful chemicals, the system uses a special chemical process that utilises potassium carbonate, a non-toxic and environmentally friendly substance, to capture CO2 emissions.
KC8 Capture Technologies Executive Director Barry Hooper, who also has a University of Melbourne honorary appointment, said the technology can capture up to 95 per cent of C02 emissions from heavy industrial sources, making the carbon capture 50 per cent cheaper and improving energy efficiency by up to 15 per cent.
“KC8 is in the process of implementing two demonstration facilities of the UNO MK3 technology. As well as the facility in Gladstone, a second plant will be located at the US Department of Energy’s National Carbon Capture Centre,” Mr Hooper said.
Head of FEIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and the University project lead Professor Kathryn Mumford said the collaboration demonstrates what can be achieved when University experts and industry work together to solve challenging problems.
“It is wonderful to advance this technology, which originated through our team’s work with the CO2 CRC over a decade ago, and to work with KC8 Capture Technologies to help drive carbon capture in Australia and, hopefully, around the world,” Professor Mumford said.
Professor Mumford will lead a team of FEIT researchers, including Professor Sandra Kentish and Dr Aaron Li, over the four-and-a-half-year project lifespan.
UNO MK3 uses potassium carbonate, a salt-like compound widely used to produce glass and soap, to absorb CO2 from industrial exhaust gases. When these gases pass through the system, the potassium carbonate reacts with CO2, forming a solid compound called ‘potassium bicarbonate’. This reaction captures the CO2, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere.
The ReDeFINE project will have four core aims:
- To develop retrofittable modifications for the UNO MK3 technology to improve capture performance and decrease operational costs (UNO MK3+).
- To develop the next generation of technology that achieves CO2 capture rates approaching 100 per cent (UNO MK4).
- To explore innovative pathways through which net negative emissions can be achieved using KC8 technology (UNO MK5).
- To increase the versatility and value proposition on the full range of KC8 capture technology offerings through CO2 utilisation (UNO Enhanced).
Announcement was originally published at University of Melbourne.
