German Power Plant Testing CO2-scrubbing Algae
Swedish energy group Vattenfall said it had launched a major pilot project Thursday using algae to absorb greenhouse gas emissions from a coal-fired power plant in eastern Germany.
The two-million-euro (2.6-million-dollar) trial run, which will continue until October 2011, in the depressed Lausitz mining region is one of several experimental attempts in the sector using algae to slash carbon dioxide output.
“The microalgae use climate-killing CO2 to create valuable biomass,” the chairman of Vattenfall Europe Mining and Generation, Hartmuth Zeiss, said in a statement.
“Moreover the new technology will bring useful know-how to the Lausitz and increase its importance as a region for energy production.”
Half the funding for the project called green MiSSiON (Microalgae Supported CO2 Sequestration in Organic Chemicals and New Energy) comes from Vattenfall, the other half from state and European Union subsidies.
