How Viable Are Carbon Utilization Technologies? NET Power Has an Answer

By Isha Sangani

Recently, a Texas-based company called NET Power has come out with what it claims to be cutting-edge technology–something that its leader, Ron DeGrorio, hails as being as significant in the energy sector as the Wright Brothers’ innovations for aviation.

NET Power’s plant is similar to other natural gas plants, but with a crucial difference: the natural gas is burned in oxygen instead of air, so the carbon dioxide and water released is purer. The CO2 is much more easily able to be converted to a condensed form that can then be injected into the ground or utilized in products such as plastics. NET Power currently has a handful of power plants that are operating and connected to the grid in various locations in North America.

One obvious and major drawback of the power plant is, of course, its reliance on natural gas. The gas must be transported to the plants in order to generate electricity where it is needed most. Proponents of the technology argue that, much like some argue with natural gas, it could be a useful non-renewable (but cleaner) “bridge solution” that could tide the country over as it builds its renewable energy future.

Other methods of carbon capture and storage have been explored, including direct air capture. NET Power’s technology has a significant cost advantage, though, and it would have the added benefit of providing electricity.

This technology comes as the world sees the worsening impacts of the climate crisis and a growing demand for energy. Economists and energy experts speculate that this technology could benefit the United States in particular, since the country has recently transitioned to deriving a significant portion of its electricity from natural gas.

Economists and energy experts laud the concept, but many are skeptical of the technology’s potential to make significant impact in the current political and economic circumstances. They point to the issue of “closing the loop”-- bridging the gap between carbon dioxide capture and its utilization in products. Currently, although there are government credits for firms to sequester carbon, there are few economic incentives for firms to transition from using carbon dioxide that is a captured byproduct and carbon dioxide that is drawn from another source. If this technology becomes adopted on a wider scale, experts have suggested implementing economic measures such as a credit program for transitioning to captured carbon, or negative incentives such as a tax on fossil fuels.

So, will 2022 be the year of carbon-utilizing natural gas plants? The question remains to be answered, btu it certainly seems like NET Power and companies like it are onto something.