European project aims to develop CCS technology on an industrial scale

Last month, a consortium of 11 European partners, including ArcelorMittal, Axens, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Total, launched a project to demonstrate an innovative process called DMX for capturing CO2 from industrial activities. It is part of a more comprehensive study dedicated to the development of the future European Dunkirk North Sea Capture and Storage Cluster. The 3D project (DMX Demonstration in Dunkirk) is part of Horizon 2020, the E.U’s research and innovation program. The four-year, €19.3-million project is coordinated by IFPEN, and has three main objectives: 1) to demonstrate the effectiveness of the DMX process on a pilot scale; 2) prepare the implementation of a first industrial unit at the ArcelorMittal site in Dunkirk, which could be operational starting in 2025, capturing 1 million metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of CO2; 3) design the future European Dunkirk North Sea Cluster, which should be able to capture, pack, transport and store 10 million m.t./yr of CO2 and should be operational by 2035. The pilot, designed by Axens (Rueil-Malmaison, France; www.axens.net), will be built starting in 2020 at the ArcelorMittal steelworks site in Dunkirk and will be able to capture 0.5 m.t./h of CO2 from steelmaking…