NTPC has announced the capturing of its first stream of carbon dioxide from one of its coal-based power plants.
On August 15, 2022, NTPC captured its first CO2 ever from the flue gas stream of Unit-13 of the Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh. This initiative shall pave the way for scaling up CO2 capture technology and ‘Greening the Coal Power Generation’, and is part of NTPC’s commitment towards “net zero” by 2070.
At the same location, NTPC is also setting up ‘Green Hydrogen’ Generation Plant which will use ‘Proton Exchange Membrane’ Electrolyzers to produce 2 tonnes per day of hydrogen. Subsequently, 20 tonnes per day of captured CO2 and 2 tonnes per day of hydrogen shall be utilized to produce 10 tonnes per day of ‘Green Methanol’ through a heterogeneous catalytic process.
The integrated CO2 to Methanol Project has been conceived, designed, engineered and awarded by the R&D wing of NTPC — NTPC Energy Technology Research Alliance (NETRA) — and executed by VSTPS Green Chemical Department in coordination with NETRA.
The total installed capacity of the NTPC is 69454 MW, NTPC expanding its footprint in new business areas like green hydrogen, waste-to-energy and e-mobility. India’s largest power producer is also aiming for a 10 per cent reduction in net energy intensity by 2032. NTPC has become India’s first energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).
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Besides power generation, NTPC has diversified into producing energy through cleaner and greener sources such as hydro, wind and solar and also Green Hydrogen solutions. The power major has also forayed into a variety of business areas including fuel cells, e-mobility and waste-to-energy.
Featured photograph shows NTPC’s Vindhyachal super thermal power station in Madhya Pradesh. The coal-based power plant has a total capacity of 4,760 mw coming from 13 units – six of 210 mw and seven of 500 mw, commissioning over the period October 1987 and August 2015.
