Babcock & Wilcox to study development of biomass-to-hydrogen in South Korea

Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) announced that it has signed an agreement with NRG Korea to study the applicability of B&W’s BrightLoop technology for a hydrogen generation facility using biomass fuel in South Korea.

B&W’s BrightLoop chemical looping technology is part of its ClimateBright suite of decarbonization and hydrogen technologies. The BrightLoop process uses a proprietary, regenerable particle and has been demonstrated to effectively separate carbon dioxide (CO2) while producing hydrogen, steam and/or syngas, and is ready for commercial scale-up.

B&W and NRG have signed a memorandum of understanding to study the technology and potentially develop the project, which would use waste biomass as feedstock to produce hydrogen for fuel cells used for electrical generation.

“As the energy transition accelerates, clean hydrogen from net-carbon neutral sources will play an increasingly important role in energy generation,” said Joe Buckler, B&W senior vice-president, clean energy. “B&W’s BrightLoop technology is a cutting-edge solution for hydrogen generation from virtually any fuel stock, and, depending on a customer’s needs, also can be used to isolate CO2 for capture or use, and produce steam or syngas. BrightLoop is a flexible solution with a wide array of potential applications.”

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to work closely with NRG to develop this groundbreaking clean energy project,” Buckler said.

Jay Kim, chief executive officer of NRG Korea said, “NRG Korea is excited to be cooperating with Babcock & Wilcox, a world-renowned technology leader, in the development of this unique and innovative energy project. We see this project as a significant development in the renewable energy space by generating clean electrical power using green hydrogen produced from a renewable waste-based fuel.”

NRG Korea, established in 2008, is a Korean company specializing in waste processing and manufacture of alternative fuels and holds a number of patents related to their unique processing technologies.

B&W’s ClimateBright suite of revolutionary decarbonization technologies are designed to help utilities and industry aggressively combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. These technologies have application for a wide range of industries including energy production, food manufacturing, steel, cement, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, carbon black, and pulp and paper.