CarbFix Wins European Geothermal Innovation Award
The Icelandic CarbFix project and German company Eavor won the Ruggero Bertani European Geothermal Innovation Award 2020. Mannvit has been the leading engineering consultant in the CarbFix project from the beginning. The CarbFix and SulFix projects are part of the NCG (non-condensable gas) treatment plant at Hellisheidi Geothermal power plant, also designed by Mannvit.
Mannvit lead the design and commissioning of the CO2 and H2S abatement plant at Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant. The owner of the geothermal power plant is Orka Náttúrunnar (ON) in Iceland. The abatement plant treats non-condensable gases (NCG) from the power plant. The plant separates hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from other NCG gases. The hydrogen sulfide and the carbon dioxide are dissolved in condensate and re-injected deep into the bedrock at the plant site where H2S and CO2 mineralize.
The European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) states „The CarbFix process captures CO2 and other sour gases from emission sources, transforming them into rocks underground in less than two years. This overturns the common view that mineral storage in Carbon Capture & Storage projects takes hundreds to thousands of years. Carbfix has global scaling potential in and beyond the geothermal industry for decarbonising the economy.“
The CarbFix projects have received funding from the European Union‘s FP7 and Horizon 2020 research and innovation programs. Studies of the drilling cores from the bedrock at the injection area of the CarbFix project strongly suggests that the theories of scientists are valid. The carbon dioxide binds with the basaltic rocks and by using this method, this main greenhouse gas is stored as a mineral in the ground for the foreseeable future. Studies show that 85-90% of carbon dioxide is captured this way within a year of re-injection.
About the award
The Ruggero Bertani European Geothermal Innovation Award is given to companies which have made an outstanding contribution towards the field of geothermal energy in the form of innovative products, scientific research or project initiatives.