Better Enzymes for Carbon Capture

Better Enzymes for Carbon Capture

Program:
IMPACCT
Award:
$4,657,045
Location:
Redwood City, California
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
07/01/2010 - 06/30/2012
Website:

Critical Need:

Coal-fired power plants provide nearly 50% of all electricity in the U.S. While coal is a cheap and abundant natural resource, its continued use contributes to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. Capturing and storing this CO2 would reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas levels while allowing power plants to continue using inexpensive coal. Carbon capture and storage represents a significant cost to power plants that must retrofit their existing facilities to accommodate new technologies. Reducing these costs is the primary objective of ARPA-E's carbon capture program.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Codexis is developing new and efficient forms of enzymes known as carbonic anhydrases to absorb CO2 more rapidly and under challenging conditions found in the gas exhaust of coal-fired power plants. Carbonic anhydrases are common and are among the fastest enzymes, but they are not robust enough to withstand the harsh environment found in the power plant exhaust steams. In this project, Codexis will be using proprietary technology to improve the enzymes' ability to withstand high temperatures and large swings in chemical composition. The project aims to develop a carbon-capture process that uses less energy and less equipment than existing approaches. This would reduce the cost of retrofitting today's coal-fired power plants.

Potential Impact:

If successful, Codexis' enzymes would enable CO2 capture under the challenging conditions of coal-fired power plants and improve the cost-effectiveness of carbon capture technology.

Security:

Enabling continued use of domestic coal for electricity generation will preserve the stability of the electric grid.

Environment:

Carbon capture technology could prevent more than 800 million tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere each year.

Economy:

Enabling cost-effective carbon capture systems could accelerate their adoption at existing power plants.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Karma Sawyer
Project Contact:
Dr. James Lalonde
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
jim.lalonde@codexis.com

Partners

Nexant, Inc.

Related Projects

• Alliant Techsystems (ATK) - Supersonic Technology for CO2 Capture
• Codexis - Better Enzymes for Carbon Capture
• Columbia University - Chemically Accelerated Carbon Mineralization
• General Electric (GE) Global Research - CO2 Capture with Liquid-to-Solid Absorbents
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - Composite Membranes for CO2 Capture
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) - Synthetic Catalysts for CO2 Storage
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - CO2 Capture Using Electrical Energy
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - High Surface-Area CO2 Sponge
• Research Triangle Institute (RTI) - CO2 Capture and Regeneration at Low Temperatures
• Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) - Capturing CO2 from Exhaust Gas
• Texas A&M University - Stimuli-Responsive Metal Organic Frameworks
• University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) - Metal Organic Framework Research
• University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) - Gelled Ionic Liquid-Based Membranes
• University of Kentucky - Hybrid Solvent-Membrane CO2 Capture
• University of Notre Dame - Phase-Changing Ionic Liquids

Release Date:
04/29/2010