Episode 92 | Experiment Experts | National Carbon Capture Center

The National Carbon Capture Center is a neutral test center that gives Developers a chance to test technologies in a real-world setting.

An NCCC engineer (left) with Ep. 90 guest Steven Winberg (right).

Asst. Sec. Winberg wants to reduce capture costs 50%.  The NCCC has helped reduce these costs ⅓ so far.

Flue gas from the coal plant is scrubbed before Developers test CCUS equipment.  this is fairly representative of flue gas any coal plant in the U.S. would produce.

The NCCC has hosted more than 60 technologies over 110,000 hours since 2009.

Developers work with staff from onboarding through demobilization at the Center.

My guest says, "The feedback we hear from the Developers the most is the staff and what we’re able to provide."

My guest this week, National Carbon Capture Center Director John Northington.

I have been circling the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) for a while now. I first discussed the work they were doing with my Panelists at the NAYGN conference in Episode 65. My guest from Episode 81 also mentioned they were testing carbon utilization technologies, some of which have been tested at the NCCC.

The Center is located next to an operational coal and natural gas power plant in Wilsonville, Alabama. The facility is primarily funded by the Department of Energy and operated by Southern Company. As the name would suggest, their primary mission is to test carbon capture technologies—removing CO₂.

John Northington, NCCC Director, says their mission isn't just coal-focused. "These processes we test could really be applicable over a wide range of industrial applications, even outside of the power sector."

Since 2009, the NCCC has hosted over 60 technologies, and completed over 110,000 hours of testing. Guests, who John calls "Developers," get access to a "slip stream" of power plant exhaust, or flue gas. There are multiple bays at the Center, so multiple tests can be going on at the same time.

I was curious if this was too limited. After all, coal plants burn many grades of coal, and produce different CO₂ concentrations, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulates. John says the flue gas provided to the Developers has already been scrubbed.

"The stream that they would be getting would be fairly representative of the broader fleet across the country," he says.

Developers, he says, get access to a support staff that provides onboarding, construction, operation, troubleshooting, data analysis, and demobilization. In addition, any new intellectual property that comes out of these tests belongs to the Developer.

"It's done on purpose to create the environment that you need to move these technologies forward," says John.

Tests can range from component testing to fully integrated systems. John says Developers will usually spend about 3 months at the Center and test for about 1,000 hours. These tests will typically begin with parametric testing and then move on to longer, steady-state tests.

John says the staff typically consult Developers on the best test criteria.

"The goal is to provide enough testing time for the Developer to be able to confidently scale up from the tests that they've done at our facility," he says.

In addition to carbon capture from coal, the NCCC is also adding natural gas infrastructure for carbon capture and utilization research. DOE recently announced a project to test Direct Air Capture at the NCCC.

Southern Company itself has found itself on the leading edge of new technologies. John says the R&D group turned 50 last year. In addition to the NCCC, Southern Company is also building the new Vogtle nuclear units, exploring the molten chloride fast reactor with TerraPower, the hydrogen economy, storage, “Tall Wind,” microgrids, EVs, and more.

“I get to sit on the front row and participate in a lot of this research," says John. “There couldn't be a better time to be in R&D at Southern Company and specifically at the NCCC."

Useful Links:

• National Carbon Capture Center - Official Site
• National Carbon Capture Center - Department of Energy