GE Vernova Study Findings Show Installing Exhaust Gas Recirculation Reduces Carbon-Capture Cost

GE Vernova’s front-end engineering design (FEED) study, Retrofittable Advanced Combined-Cycle Integration for Flexible Decarbonized Generation, found the effects of adding a carbon-capture system to a natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plant could be reduced through a series of integration measures, including an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system. The study findings—which was led by GE Vernova and completed in collaboration with Southern Company, Linde, BASF, and Kiewit—were released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

GE Vernova’s Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system; image credit: GE Vernova

The study evaluated retrofitting the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant in Bucks, Alabama, with carbon-capture technology. Integrating GE Vernova’s EGR system

could reduce more than 6% of the total cost of the carbon-capture facility compared to carbon capture without the EGR system.

“GE Vernova is grateful for the DOE’s support of this study, the first of its kind to explore EGR technology applied in a gas power carbon-capture plant,” said Jeremee Wetherby, GE Vernova Carbon Solutions Leader. “We developed a holistic approach considering various integration measures building on our long history and expertise in power plant engineering, operation, upgrades, and controls. Carbon capture is a crucial pathway to lowering carbon emissions from power generation to near-zero levels, and we are pleased with the benefits projected by the study, which naturally can vary from site to site but represent a valuable indicator of the possibilities at similar sites.”

Study Design and Approach

The study explored:

• the use of NGCC steam in the carbon-capture system facility
• potential gas turbine upgrades
• installing NGCC and carbon-capture control systems
• employing GE Vernova’s EGR system, which reintroduces part of the exhaust gas back into the gas turbine inlet

The study’s approach reduced the size and costs of the carbon-capture system by cutting the number of absorber towers in half, improving the efficiency and flexibility of the plant, and potentially increasing its power output.

Compared to a non-EGR system, the potential of an EGR system offers a:

• Large reduction of carbon-capture facility footprint and cost of absorber
• Lower operating costs due to reduced amine degradation
• Less energy-intensive separation due to higher concentration of CO₂ in flue gas directed to the carbon-capture system
• More steam turbine power output because of lower steam consumption

According to the Global CCS Institute, the number of carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities in the pipeline is at an all-time high, with accelerating momentum for deployment and application across industries.

CCS is on the rise globally, as governments, industry, and communities grapple with the increasing urgency of addressing climate change. Data from the Global CCS Institute indicates a period of unprecedented growth, with the number and capacity of CCS facilities in the project pipeline at an all-time high. The Institute’s 2023 Global Status of CCS Report noted a 102% increase in CCS facilities in the pipeline compared to 2022: As of April 2024, there are 564 commercial CCS facilities in the project pipeline.

The Institute also noted accelerating momentum for CCS in industries beyond the lower-cost applications of gas processing, ethanol, and ammonia production. CCS is being integrated into industries such as cement, steel, chemical plants, power plants, and even carbon-removal technologies, such as direct air capture (DAC), bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), and waste-to-energy plants.