RWE npower, the U.K. arm of German utility RWE (RWE.XE), said Thursday that it had formed a consortium with five other companies to build a carbon capture and storage power plant, ahead of entering a competition to get U.K. government funding for the project.
In addition to RWE npower, the consortium comprises of chemical and gas provider BOC Gases PLC (BOCGAS.LA), flue gas desulfurization and combustion technology provider Cansolv Technologies, marine transportation company I.M. Skaugen AS (IMSK.OS), engineering and construction company The Shaw Group Inc. (SGR) and oil and gas exploration company Tullow Oil PLC (TQW.DB).
RWE said the consortium encompasses "the full range of expertise needed to demonstrate carbon capture, transport and eventual undersea storage," though it is continuing to hold talks with other companies interested in the project.
"RWE npower is currently developing proposals for entry by the end of March into the pre-qualification phase of the Government's CCS demonstration competition. The partnership structure will form part of its proposals," the company said.
In October, the U.K. government said it would launch a competition to finance the construction within seven years of one post-combustion commercial scale carbon capture and storage project.
The government is believed to be earmarking about GBP300 million in funding for the project and plans to announce the winner in summer 2009.
Post-combustion means capturing for storage the carbon dioxide after the coal is burnt instead of pre-combustion technology, where a chemical process is used to break up the coal, allowing CO2 emissions to be captured before power generation and siphoned underground for storage.
RWE npower has previously said that it will enter the competition by submitting a proposal to install carbon capture and storage on at least 25 megawatts of power generating capacity at either of its Tilbury or Blyth coal-fired power plant projects.
RWE npower hopes to increase the megawatt capacity of the CCS demonstration project once it has received more details about the government's competition.
The company also plans to build a 1-megawatt carbon capture pilot plant in Wales due to be operational by 2010.