Caterpillar acquires carbon capture company

Caterpillar Inc. has acquired Enhanced Energy Group, Inc. operating as CarbonPoint Solutions, a U.S.-based carbon capture technology company. Headquartered in Rhode Island, CarbonPoint Solutions provides technology to concentrate and capture CO2 for utilization or sequestration. No financial details were provided.

CarbonPoint Solutions’ Semi-Closed Cycle (SCC) system is designed to concentrate exhaust CO2, from engines and turbines, enabling economically viable carbon capture.

Carbon capture systems using CarbonPoint Solutions’ patented processes can be applied to reciprocating engines and turbines at oil and gas sites, distributed power installations, industrial plants and waste-to-energy sites, Caterpillar said.

“Combining CarbonPoint Solutions’ patented technology with Caterpillar Oil & Gas solutions enables us to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions while helping our customers meet their climate-related objectives,” said Rod Shurman, vice president of Caterpillar’s Oil & Gas and Marine Division.

CarbonPoint Solutions was founded in 2011 as Enhanced Energy Group to develop commercial carbon capture solutions built on U.S. Navy carbon capture technology used for undersea propulsion applications. With multiple new patents awarded in the following years, the company attracted new investors and collaborated with Caterpillar. This led to the first field demonstration of the technology on a Cat G3406 generator set and a venture capital investment from Caterpillar.

CarbonPoint Solutions’ Semi-Closed Cycle (SCC) system is designed to concentrate exhaust CO2, enabling economically viable carbon capture for distributed power. In addition to the SCC, CarbonPoint Solutions has also developed fully integrated and standalone capture systems based on advanced molecular sieve technology.

According to CarbonPoint Solutions, the low CO2 concentration – typically in the range of 3 to 11% – in engine and industrial gas turbine exhaust makes carbon capture difficult and more expensive compared to other sources. The company said SCC technology increases CO2 concentration by two to seven time, up to 25%. The resultant reduction in exhaust volume enables economic capture using smaller, less expensive systems, CarbonPoint Solutions said.

The company said its SCC technology can result in up to a 95% lower carbon footprint and when combined with biogas fuels, carbon-negative solutions can be created. The SCC system is available for new installations or can be retrofit to existing power systems onsite.

“We are extremely pleased to join Caterpillar and look forward to rapid deployment of the Semi-Closed Cycle and carbon capture for Cat engines and Solar gas turbines,” said Paul Dunn, president and founder of CarbonPoint Solutions.