Baker Hughes & Woodside Energy: Decarbonisation Solutions
Baker Hughes and Woodside Energy, prominent figures in the global energy sphere, have declared plans to work together on a groundbreaking initiative. These companies have set their sights on crafting novel, more compact decarbonisation solutions aimed at reducing carbon footprints.
The partnership will focus on leveraging the advanced carbon capture technology developed by the American firm, Net Power. This technology, primarily used in natural gas power stations, boasts the impressive ability to eliminate roughly 97% of carbon emissions during the process of generating energy.
In a previously established Memorandum of Understanding in 2022, both Baker Hughes and Woodside have now entered into a Technology Development Agreement (TDA) to scrutinise the effectiveness and scalability of this cutting-edge system patented by Net Power.
With the backing of these two industrial giants, there's significant momentum towards enhancing this technology for broader application.
Enhancing feasibility and scalability
Baker Hughes takes the lead as the exclusive distributor of the small-scale Net Power platform, bringing its substantial expertise to ascertain how this technology can be adapted across various industrial power needs.
Beyond practical application, the initiative seeks to broaden its horizons by inviting more development partners. This strategy ensures the technology remains flexible and responsive to diverse market needs.
Julie Fallon, Executive Vice President of Technical and Energy Development at Woodside Energy, shares her excitement: "This agreement further strengthens our long-standing relationship across the natural gas value chain and our shared journey in the energy transition.
"We are excited to continue our collaboration with Baker Hughes and leverage their leading-edge technology and our combined engineering and CCUS capabilities to explore and develop lower-carbon emissions alternative power solutions using Net Powerâs platform."
Both companies will draw on continuous development and testing at Net Powerâs demonstration facility in La Porte, Texas and a forthcoming utility-scale power plant near Midland, Texas. These efforts are crucial in determining the technical and economical viability of deploying this technology on a smaller scale.
The role of Net Powerâs technology
Net Power has designed a system that uses pure oxygen to combust natural gas, instead of regular air, which results in a high-purity CO2 by-product. This carbon dioxide can then be efficiently captured and either stored or used in other industrial processes, thereby noticeably reducing emissions.
This technology is not merely about adherence to environmental standards but also about ensuring reliable and cost-effective power generation.
Alessandro Bresciani, Senior Vice President of Climate Technology Solutions at Baker Hughes, remarks, "Baker Hughes is committed to providing innovative solutions that support the decarbonisation of the energy and industrial sectors and we are honoured to share this journey with our long-standing customer Woodside Energy.
"We believe this framework represents the partnerships and collaborations necessary to develop and scale the energy solutions that support decarbonisation while also meeting the worldâs growing energy demand."
Broader impacts and industrial decarbonisation
As the demand for reduced emissions grows, both in the oil and gas industry and beyond, the development of carbon capture and low-emission power solutions becomes increasingly crucial. This collaboration sets a new benchmark in the industry's drive towards cleaner energy alternatives.
"Net Power applauds the enhanced collaboration between Woodside and our partner Baker Hughes," adds Danny Rice, CEO of Net Power. "This work has the potential to bring our technology platform to a broader array of end markets and applications, complementing our utility-scale programme and strategy."
With stakeholders paying closer attention to environmental impact, partnerships like these are pivotal. If successful, the initiatives could serve as a model for diminishing emissions across industries notoriously challenging to decarbonise.
Danny continues: "Todayâs announcement is a tangible commitment to continue technology innovation and market development for the Net Power platform and to bring ultra-low emissions energy solutions to a power-hungry world."
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