8 Rivers Capital

8 Rivers Capital seeks to enhance the profitability and responsiveness of gas turbine generators in high variable renewable energy environments. This project would retrofit existing plants with Exhaust Gas Recycle (EGR) and a novel phase-change solvent CO₂ capture system known as UNO MK3, offering a lower cost pathway than new gas turbines with capture. The UNO MK3 process captures 90% of exhaust gas CO2 using a benign precipitating solvent at high concentration to reduce circulation rates and decrease energy usage. Additional innovations of a smaller novel solids-tolerant absorber and a novel concentric absorber design, which halves plant footprint, could reduce capital costs by 60-65%. UNO MK3 allows CO₂ to be withdrawn and stored as solid potassium bicarbonate during high energy demand, enabling profitable solvent regeneration when electricity prices are low.

Improvements in the design and processes of CCS-equipped plants in high VRE environments could dramatically reduce the cost of a net-zero carbon system. Benefits include: