Byron nuclear power plant picked for carbon collection tests

A $2.5 million federal grant will be used to research an emerging technology in carbon collection at the nuclear power generating plant in Byron.

Constellation, the parent company of the Byron facility, made the announcement in a news release on Tuesday.

The grant comes from the United States Department of Energy.

Constellation will work with 1PointFive Inc., Worley Group Inc., Carbon Engineering Ltd., Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to develop direct air capture technology.

“This exciting DOE collaboration highlights Constellation’s continued use of innovation and leverages the clean energy expertise at our nuclear plants to advance climate-saving projects in the communities we serve,” said Constellation CEO Joseph Dominguez.

The objective of the project is to capture 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, reducing global carbon emissions and helping to remove carbon from energy-intensive sectors of the economy.

Carbon Engineering developed the direct air capture technology and licensed it to 1PointFive, which will be tested at Byron’s twin 495-foot-tall hyperbolic cooling towers.

In the proposed study, a chemical solution is added to water flowing through the Byron plant’s main condenser on the non-nuclear side of the plant.

After traveling through the condenser, the water would be sent to the cooling towers, where carbon dioxide in the air will be attach itself to the chemical solution. Once captured, the carbon dioxide will be sequestered for later use.

Aviation fuel manufacture and the beverage industry’s carbonation production would be industrial applications of the captured carbon.

The study of the technology is expected to conclude in 2023.

“A project like this will give nuclear power, which already delivers the most carbon-free electricity of any source in the nation, an even bigger role in helping America accelerate the transition to a carbon-free future,” said Dave Rhoades, chief nuclear officer at Constellation.