Construction of Carbon Capture Plant begins

On 30th of June construction began on the upgraded Silverstone project, the CO2 and H2S capture plant at Hellisheidarvirkjun geothermal plant. The upgrade will enable the capture of almost all carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide emissions from the power plant.

Edda Aradóttir, CEO of Carbfix and Árni Hrannar Haraldsson CEO of ON Power, took the first shovelful for the station. The announcement says that this marks the start of construction for the so-called Silverstone project, which is a joint project between Carbfix and ON Power. The new construction project will take place at Hellisheidarvirkjun geothermal power plant on the upgraded carbon capture facility named “Steingerður”, which means made of stone in Icelandic and named “Silverstone” in English.

Mannvit’s role is the process design (P&ID) and design of the absorption column, detailed mechanical design, steel piping design and equipment layout, detailed design of reinjection well, testing and commissioning.

With its introduction, almost all carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide will be removed from the emissions of the Hellisheidarvirkjun geothermal power plant and pumped down into the nearby basalt rock layers where it mineralizes into rock using the Carbfix technology. The aim is that the carbon capture plant will be commissioned in 2025, and Hellisheidarvirkjun will thus be first near-zero carbon footprint geothermal power plant in the world.

The current non-condensable gas removal plant at Hellisheidi geothermal heat and power plant, which was commissioned in 2014, captures about 30% of carbon dioxide and 75% of hydrogen sulphide from the power station. Mannvit worked on the engineering of that plant.

In 2021, this new project received a grant of ISK 600 million from the Innovation Fund of the European Union.