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Houston climatech company signs on to massive carbon capture project in Malaysia

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HYCO1 has signed an agreement to convert 1 million tons per year of raw CO2 into industrial-grade syngas at a new carbon capture project in Malaysia. Photo via Getty Images.

Houston-based CO2 utilization company HYCO1 has signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia LNG Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of Petronas, for a carbon capture project in Malaysia, which includes potential utilization and conversion of 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The project will be located in Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia, where Malaysia LNG is based, according to a news release. Malaysia LNG will supply HYCO1 with an initial 1 million tons per year of raw CO2 for 20 years starting no later than 2030. The CCU plant is expected to be completed by 2029.

"This is very exciting for all stakeholders, including HYCO1, MLNG, and Petronas, and will benefit all Malaysians," HYCO1 CEO Gregory Carr said in the release. "We approached Petronas and MLNG in the hopes of helping them solve their decarbonization needs, and we feel honored to collaborate with MLNG to meet their Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050.”

The project will convert CO2 into industrial-grade syngas (a versatile mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) using HYCO1’s proprietary CUBE Technology. According to the company, its CUBE technology converts nearly 100 percent of CO2 feed at commercial scale.

“Our revolutionary process and catalyst are game changers in decarbonization because not only do we prevent CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere, but we transform it into highly valuable and usable downstream products,” Carr added in the release.

As part of the MoU, the companies will conduct a feasibility study evaluating design alternatives to produce low-carbon syngas.

The companies say the project is expected to “become one of the largest CO2 utilization projects in history.”

HYCO1 also recently announced that it is providing syngas technology to UBE Corp.'s new EV electrolyte plant in New Orleans. Read more here.

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PETRONAS will use Carbon Clean's scalable CCS technology as a part of the agreement. Photo via carbonclean.com

Houston carbon capture company signs MOU with PETRONAS

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Carbon Clean announced a new partnership with PETRONAS CCS Solution, a subsidiary of PETRONAS, to collaborate and evaluate Carbon Clean’s carbon capture and storage technology.

The two companies will assess carbon capture technology by aiming to “identify synergies and explore future collaboration opportunities,” according to a news release.The primary focus of the MOU is Carbon Clean's CycloneCC tech, which can reduce the installed cost of carbon capture by up to 50 percent. Both companies will collaborate to develop how the modular technology can be used for post-combustion CO2 capture.

“PETRONAS has a pioneering approach to decarbonization, viewing carbon capture as a lever to transform its business,” Aniruddha Sharma, chair and CEO of Carbon Clean, says in the release. “It is turning the low-carbon energy transition into an opportunity to drive green growth. Carbon Clean is proud to support PETRONAS in achieving its net zero targets by providing a cost-effective approach to carbon capture.”

The modular design assists with easily installation and makes it more efficient to integrate with operations that are already up and running. The physical footprint of CycloneCC occupies up to 50 percent less space than conventional carbon capture solutions. The equipment itself is 10 times smaller and includes rotating packed bed (RPB) technology that uses centrifugal force to make carbon capture process run more efficiently.

“CycloneCC’s modular design enables companies to stagger their investment, adding units in line with their decarbonization goals,” Sharma said in a news release. “We are making carbon capture logistically viable and easy to scale.”

Carbon Clean also has partnered with AGRA Industries, as the biofuel industry could use Carbon Clean’s CaptureX technology. The United Kingdom-based company operates its U.S. headquarters in the Ion.

Carbon Clean’s other customers include companies in the cement, steel, refinery, and energy-to-waste sectors. Among the investors in Carbon Clean are Chevron, Samsung Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, and WAVE Equity Partners. Since it's founding in 2019, the company has raised $260 million in funding, according to data platform Tracxn.

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Houston scientists develop 'recharge-to-recycle' reactor for lithium-ion batteries

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Engineers at Rice University have developed a cleaner, innovative process to turn end-of-life lithium-ion battery waste into new lithium feedstock.

The findings, recently published in the journal Joule, demonstrate how the team’s new “recharge-to-recycle” reactor recharges the battery’s waste cathode materials to coax out lithium ions into water. The team was then able to form high-purity lithium hydroxide, which was clean enough to feed directly back into battery manufacturing.

The study has major implications for the electric vehicle sector, which significantly contributes to the waste stream from end-of-life battery packs. Additionally, lithium tends to be expensive to mine and refine, and current recycling methods are energy- and chemical-intensive.

“Directly producing high-purity lithium hydroxide shortens the path back into new batteries,” Haotian Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, co-corresponding author of the study and co-founder of Solidec, said in a news release. “That means fewer processing steps, lower waste and a more resilient supply chain.”

Sibani Lisa Biswal, chair of Rice’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the William M. McCardell Professor in Chemical Engineering, also served as co-corresponding author on the study.

“We asked a basic question: If charging a battery pulls lithium out of a cathode, why not use that same reaction to recycle?” Biswal added in the release. “By pairing that chemistry with a compact electrochemical reactor, we can separate lithium cleanly and produce the exact salt manufacturers want.”

The new process also showed scalability, according to Rice. The engineers scaled the device to 20 square centimeters, then ran a 1,000-hour stability test and processed 57 grams of industrial black mass supplied by industry partner Houston-based TotalEnergies. The results produced lithium hydroxide that was more than 99 percent pure. It also maintained an average lithium recovery rate of nearly 90 percent over the 1,000-hour test, showing its durability. The process also worked across multiple battery chemistries, including lithium iron phosphate, lithium manganese oxide and nickel-manganese-cobalt variants.

Looking ahead, the team plans to scale the process and consider ways it can sustain high efficiency for greater lithium hydroxide concentrations.

“We’ve made lithium extraction cleaner and simpler,” Biswal added in the release. “Now we see the next bottleneck clearly. Tackle concentration, and you unlock even better sustainability.

Houston grid's $2.9 billion upgrade tops energy news to know

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Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top energy transition news in recent weeks. Here are the five most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories from November 16-30:

1. CenterPoint gets go-ahead for $2.9B upgrade of Houston grid

CenterPoint customers in the Houston area will pay an extra $1 a month to cover costs of the recently approved $2.9 billion resiliency plan starting next year. Photo via centerpointenergy.com

Texas utility regulators have given the green light for Houston-based CenterPoint Energy to spend $2.9 billion on strengthening its Houston-area electric grid to better withstand extreme weather. The cost of the plan is nearly $3 billion below what CenterPoint initially proposed to the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Continue reading.

2. Houston company wins contract to operate South Texas wind farm

Houston-based CAMS will operate the Mesteño Wind Project, which is home to one of the tallest wind turbine installations in the U.S. Photo via Unsplash.

Houston-based Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS), which provides services for owners of energy infrastructure, has added the owner of a South Texas wind power project to its customer list. The new customer, InfraRed Capital Partners, owns the 202-megawatt Mesteño Wind Project in the Rio Grande Valley. Continue reading.

3. Google's $40B investment in Texas data centers includes energy infrastructure

Google is investing in Texas. Courtesy of Google

Google is investing a huge chunk of money in Texas: According to a release, the company will invest $40 billion on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with the development of new data centers in Armstrong and Haskell counties. The company announced its intentions at a meeting on November 14 attended by federal, state, and local leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it "a Texas-sized investment." Continue reading.

4. Chevron and ExxonMobil feed the need for gas-powered data centers

Chevron plans to launch its first AI data center power project in West Texas in 2027. Photo via Chevron.com

Two of the Houston area’s oil and gas goliaths, Chevron and ExxonMobil, are duking it out in the emerging market for natural gas-powered data centers—centers that would ease the burden on electric grids. Chevron said it’s negotiating with an unnamed company to supply natural gas-generated power for the data center industry, whose energy consumption is soaring mostly due to AI. Continue reading.

5. Solidec partners with Australian company for clean hydrogen peroxide pilot​

Houston-based Solidec has partnered with Lynas Rare Earth on a clean hydrogen peroxide production pilot in Australia. Photo courtesy Greentown Labs.

Solidec has partnered with Australia-based Lynas Rare Earth, an environmentally responsible producer of rare earth oxides and materials, to reduce emissions from hydrogen peroxide production. The partnership marks a milestone for the Houston-based clean chemical manufacturing startup, as it would allow the company to accelerate the commercialization of its hydrogen peroxide generation technology. Continue reading.

DOE taps Texas companies for $56M in Strategic Petroleum Reserve deliveries

reserve refill

Two companies with ties to the Houston area have been awarded federal contracts totaling nearly $55.8 million to supply about 1 million barrels of crude oil for the nation’s depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Houston-based Trafigura Trading will provide two-thirds of the oil, and Dallas-based Energy Transfer Crude Marketing will provide the remaining one-third. Energy Transfer, the parent company of Energy Transfer Crude Marketing, operates a 330-acre oil terminal at the Houston Ship Channel.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which awarded the contracts, said Trafigura and Energy Transfer will deliver the crude oil from Dec. 1 through Jan. 31 to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s Bryan Mound storage site near Freeport.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world’s largest emergency supply of crude oil, can hold up to 714 million barrels of crude oil across 61 underground salt caverns at four sites along the Gulf Coast. The reserve currently contains 410 million barrels of crude oil. During the pandemic, the Biden administration ordered a 180 million-barrel drawdown from the reserve to help combat high gas prices triggered by Russia’s war with Ukraine.

The four strategic reserve sites are connected to 24 Gulf Coast refineries, and another six refineries in Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

“Awarding these contracts marks another step in the important process of refilling this national security asset,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

In March, Wright estimated it would take $20 billion and many years to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its maximum capacity, according to Reuters

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