Alstom ahead of the curve for CO2 capture and storage

Alstom announces a major milestone in the field of carbon
capture and storage (CCS) with the inauguration of the
worlds first pilot plant based on Alstoms
oxy-combustion technology. The 30 MW coal-fired pilot project,
located at Vattenfalls Schwarze Pumpe facility, Germany,
commences operation on 9th September 2008.

Alstom is committed to developing technologies that provide
affordable and clean power and thus contribute to mitigating
global warming. Technologies that enable carbon-free
electricity from fossil fuels are key to reducing CO2
emissions, and as a global leader in power generation, Alstom
is focusing on two such technologies: to capture CO2 :
oxy-combustion and post combustion.

Oxy-combustion is a process that burns coal using oxygen
instead of air, creating an exhaust stream of relatively pure
carbon dioxide that can easily be captured and stored
underground. The key advantage of Alstoms oxy-combustion
technology is that it will be applicable to new coal plants as
well as retrofits of existing facilities.

Philippe Joubert, Alstoms executive vice-president
and president of Alstom Power Systems, said:
In the mission to develop new ways of generating 
electricity with minimal environmental impact, Alstom is ahead
of the technological curve for CO2 capture. We are very pleased
and proud that Vattenfall has selected our technology, and this
inauguration represents the first results of our fruitful
collaboration.

The Schwarze Pumpe project represents another achievement in
a series of Alstom breakthroughs in CCS  under development
worldwide. These developments include oxy-combustion with two
pilot plants in Europe; post-combustion with five pilot plants
based on chilled ammonia in the US and Europe, and a research
programme to develop advanced amines in the US.

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