| Hydrogen Power http://www.bpalternativenergy.com/liveassets/bp_internet/alternativenergy/landing_hydrogen.html Hydrogen Power with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a new idea that combines a number of existing technologies in a unique way to create low-carbon electricity. It works by 'decarbonising' a fossil fuel (such as coal, oil or natural gas). This process would strip the fuel's carbon from its hydrogen atoms. We would then burn the clean hydrogen to make electricity in a specially modified gas turbine, while capturing the carbon dioxide and sequestering it in depleted underground gas and oil fields or coal beds. By using hydrogen as a fuel we produce virtually no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; the main by-product is water. So hydrogen power with carbon capture and sequestration gives us a real chance to generate large-scale clean electricity using existing fossil fuels. While the technologies for hydrogen power are available and in use today, much remains to be done to develop and commercialize this novel approach to clean power. BP Alternative Energy, together with partners, is leading the way on bringing this concept to reality. Once hydrogen power has proven its viability, there is almost no limit to how much clean power we can make using this technology. Coal, for example, is an ideal fuel for this technology. |
BP 2006/7/18
BP and GE to Develop Hydrogen Power Plants and Technologies
BP and GE today announced their intention to jointly develop and
deploy hydrogen power projects that dramatically reduce
emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from electricity
generation.
Vivienne Cox, BP's Chief Executive of Gas, Power and Renewables,
and David L. Calhoun, Vice Chairman of GE and president and CEO
of GE Infrastructure, signed the agreement today in London.
The world will continue to make extensive use of fossil fuels,
such as natural gas and coal, for power generation for the
foreseeable future, but technology now allows this to be done
more cleanly by creating hydrogen from fossil fuels while
capturing and sequestering the carbon as carbon dioxide in deep
geological formations. To facilitate this advancement, BP and GE
will collaborate on power, carbon capture and sequestration
technologies.
"The combination of our two companies' skills and resources
in this area is formidable, and is the latest example of our
intent to make a real difference in the face of the challenge of
climate change," said BP's Vivienne Cox. "BP and GE's
strategic approaches to developing increasingly cleaner, lower
carbon power options are closely aligned and our skills and
strengths are highly complementary."
"Tomorrow's energy mix will include hydrogen - and GE and BP
are taking the lead in ensuring progress begins today," said
David Calhoun of GE. "This initiative will demonstrate that
our companies' leading-edge technologies can make hydrogen
production efficient, reliable, and economical for large-scale,
commercial power production. Our financial strength will ensure
it happens now globally, changing the way we envision our energy
future."
BP has already announced plans for two such hydrogen
power projects with carbon capture and sequestration in Scotland
and California,
both of which will use GE technology. Subject to appropriate
regulatory and fiscal regimes being in place, and necessary due
diligence, the companies have an ambition to progress 10 to 15
further projects over the next decade, including the plants in
Scotland and California. Subject to further exploration, the
current expectation is that the most appropriate structure may be
through creation of a joint venture to invest in hydrogen power
projects and a joint development agreement for development of
related technology. As a first step, BP and GE would jointly
participate in the two hydrogen power projects with carbon
capture and sequestration BP has announced - at Peterhead in
Scotland and at Carson in Southern California where Scottish and
Southern Energy and Edison Mission Energy are partners
respectively.
Such low carbon power projects use fossil fuels such as natural
gas, petroleum coke or coal for power generation combined with
carbon dioxide capture and storage technology. They generate
significant quantities of base-load power while capturing and
storing some 90% of the carbon dioxide that would otherwise be
emitted, in deep geological formations.
BP and GE will apply some of the world's leading technologies,
project experience and assets to optimise the integrated design.
The collaborative effort will draw upon the companies'
technologies and experience in areas such as coal gasification,
reforming technology, gas turbines and carbon capture and
storage.
"The combination of coal gasification and carbon capture and
sequestration is crucial for clean coal development and presents
great opportunities for countries with substantial reserves of
coal such as the USA, China and India," says Lewis Gillies,
BP's Director of Hydrogen Power.
"GE and BP are combining our resources to develop
economically attractive, breakthrough technologies in the area of
hydrogen to power. This will allow power producers to use
abundant, low-cost fossil fuel resources to generate electricity
with very low carbon dioxide emissions," said Edward Lowe,
general manager of GE Energy's gasification business.
In addition to the complementary nature of the technologies and
experience of the two companies, the collaboration is expected to
be further strengthened by the global reach of each of the
partners. GE's operations in Houston and BP's operations in
London will form the core groups for the hydrogen power
collaboration.
| Notes to editors: | |
| ・ | BP www.bp.com is one of the world's largest energy companies, with 2005 profits of some $19 billion, a presence in over 100 countries and 96,000 staff worldwide. BP's main businesses are in exploration and production of oil and gas, refining and marketing of oil products, and the transportation and marketing of natural gas and power. In addition to BP's low carbon power interests in BP Alternative Energy, the company has extensive experience in pipelines and the management of oil and gas in geological formations, power generation, petrochemicals operations and in carbon capture and storage technology |
| ・ | GE
Energy www.ge.com/energy is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2005 revenue of $16.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomaginationSM, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges |
| ・ | Hydrogen power fits with the spirit of ecomaginationSM, the GE corporate commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy. Ecomagination technologies already launched by GE in the energy arena include products that generate electricity through the use of renewable, biogas or waste gas technologies, high-efficiency and lower-emissions gas turbines and engines, and cleaner coal technology |
| ・ | Hydrogen power and carbon capture and sequestration is a key part of BP's growing low-carbon power generation business, BP Alternative Energy. This business, launched in 2005, combines BP's interests in hydrogen power with BP Solar, BP's photovoltaic company, and the company's interests in wind power and natural gas-fired power generation. BP anticipates investing some $8 billion in BP Alternative Energy over the next decade reinforcing its determination to grow its businesses "beyond petroleum" |
| ・ | A hydrogen power project takes a fossil fuel, such as natural gas or coal, and converts it into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen-rich gas is used as the fuel gas to generate electric power from turbines in a power plant. The carbon dioxide is captured, transported and stored safely and permanently in deep geological formations such as oil and gas fields. Power generation accounts for some 40% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. By combining hydrogen power generation with carbon capture and storage in one integrated project, 90% of the carbon dioxide in the fuel is captured so that it does not enter the atmosphere and a substantial step is made towards tackling the climate change issue |
| ・ | BP
has already announced plans for two hydrogen power
plants. At Peterhead, Scotland, BP together with Scottish
and Southern Energy plan to build a 475MW hydrogen fired
power plant based on natural gas. It would sequester 1.8
million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide 4,000 metres
below the seabed in the Miller oil field where the carbon
dioxide will enable the production of some 40 million
barrels of oil that would not otherwise have been
recoverable. A final investment decision is due in early
2007 so the plant can be in commercial operation in 2010. The second project is a 500MW hydrogen power plant at Carson, southern California. BP, and partner Edison Mission Energy, would take petroleum coke, a refinery by-product and synthetic form of coal, to create the hydrogen. The plant will capture and store 4 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide which, like the Peterhead project, will enable incremental oil production. This project is scheduled to be complete in 2011 |