The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has identified four breakthrough technologies and funded them through its Strategic Research and Development Portfolio. EPRI expects to accelerate development of these innovations because they are likely to have significant effects on how electricity is generated and delivered.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has committed to invest roughly $4 million annually in four projects likely to have a profound effect on the electric power generation industry. The four projects are identified as the Breakthrough Technologies element of the Strategic Research and Development Plan of EPRI’s Office of Technology Innovation (TI).
Our goal is to duplicate the successes realized in areas such as post-combustion carbon capture for coal-fired power plants, in which EPRI first quantified the uses for and limitations of amine-based capture technologies for power plant applications. After an expansive search for more cost-effective options, the TI project selected and helped nurture the chilled ammonia process through proof-of-concept testing and laboratory optimization studies; these steps validated its promise for increased capture efficiency, reduced energy penalty, and lower cost. Our findings have supported a successful pilot-scale demonstration at We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Wisconsin and the ongoing larger-scale testing at American Electric Power’s Mountaineer Power Plant in West Virginia—both critical steps toward commercialization of this next-generation carbon capture technology.
The four Breakthrough Technologies were chosen by EPRI management from among 14 highly competitive proposals developed by EPRI staff with input from our members. Each of the projects addresses a strategically important area in which EPRI is an established research leader and has identified additional opportunities to accelerate technology innovation by committing substantial economic and technical resources.
Over the next three to five years, TI will nurture and advance the four technologies described below toward commercial application in collaboration with the research community, manufacturers, and EPRI member companies, some of which already plan to host field-testing of the technologies. Progress will be reported on our website (http://www.epri.com).
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