A South Charleston-based research institute and Notre Dame University have received a $2.6 million grant to investigate a less expensive way to capture carbon emissions.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A South Charleston-based research institute and Notre Dame University have received a $2.6 million grant to investigate a less expensive way to capture carbon emissions.
The Mid-Atlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center and Notre Dame will spend three years on the project, exploring the development of technology that could potentially be used to remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant emissions at a lower cost.
MATRIC's announcement comes two months after the state agreed to take over the South Charleston Technology Park. MATRIC, the park's largest tenant, plans to start the carbon-capture research project this fall.
"This is a beautiful beginning of what we feel will be a burgeoning flow of energy-related projects at the park," said George Keller, MATRIC's chief engineer and co-principal investigator on the project.
Keller said coal-fired power plants would currently use as much as a third of their generated electricity in order to capture and sequester carbon emissions.
"That's unacceptable," Keller said. "We're trying to reduce that cost down to the point where it makes the process not only technologically practical, but economically practical."
Keller forged ties with a Notre Dame chemical researcher at a conference several years ago. The two stayed touch. The researcher contacted MATRIC about applying for the federal economic stimulus grant.
"We'll be lending our engineering expertise to make this thing practical," Keller said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A South Charleston-based research institute and Notre Dame University have received a $2.6 million grant to investigate a less expensive way to capture carbon emissions.
The Mid-Atlantic Technology Research and Innovation Center and Notre Dame will spend three years on the project, exploring the development of technology that could potentially be used to remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plant emissions at a lower cost.
MATRIC's announcement comes two months after the state agreed to take over the South Charleston Technology Park. MATRIC, the park's largest tenant, plans to start the carbon-capture research project this fall.
"This is a beautiful beginning of what we feel will be a burgeoning flow of energy-related projects at the park," said George Keller, MATRIC's chief engineer and co-principal investigator on the project.
Keller said coal-fired power plants would currently use as much as a third of their generated electricity in order to capture and sequester carbon emissions.
"That's unacceptable," Keller said. "We're trying to reduce that cost down to the point where it makes the process not only technologically practical, but economically practical."
Keller forged ties with a Notre Dame chemical researcher at a conference several years ago. The two stayed touch. The researcher contacted MATRIC about applying for the federal economic stimulus grant.
"We'll be lending our engineering expertise to make this thing practical," Keller said.
MATRIC plans to use its labs and large-scale pilot plants at the tech park as part of the research project.
"We've always talked about the idea of this being an energy park," Keller said. "This is the first inkling that we can do it. We think this project will be the first in a series of projects."
MATRIC was one of 37 institutions that received grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program.
The federal agency awarded $106 million in grants last week. The program is designed to foster energy independence, reduce energy-related emissions, improve energy efficiency and promote U.S. leadership in the development of advanced energy technologies.
"These projects show that the U.S. can lead the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, which will help create new jobs, spur innovation and economic growth, while helping cut carbon pollution dramatically," U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a prepared statement.
The Department of Energy received 540 applications for the clean-energy grant money. MATRIC, which has about 130 full- and part-time employees, was the only West Virginia organization to receive a grant under the program.
Keller said many companies have contacted MATRIC about doing research at the tech park, after the state Higher Education Policy Commission agreed to take over the property from Dow Chemical Co. in March. The state plans to hire a consultant to help develop the park -- now called the West Virginia Education, Research and Technology Park -- later this month.
"We're on a roll," Keller said. "We're very optimistic. We're trying to create the kinds of jobs that would be tantalizing for those who want to come to West Virginia and those who want to stay."
Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.
