FACTS & FIGURES - Tecnimont ICB
FACTS & FIGURES - Tecnimont ICB
FACTS & FIGURES - Tecnimont ICB
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poor infrastructure. That is why large nuclear power stations, as<br />
currently planned in countries with an established nuclear industry, do<br />
not respond to their needs. By contrast, smaller reactors are being<br />
developed for countries considering nuclear energy for the first time.<br />
IRIS should provide unique benefits to small countries, but is also an<br />
attractive option for larger developed nations.<br />
The IRIS consortium, consisting of 19 organizations from nine<br />
countries, includes industrial companies, research laboratories,<br />
government organizations, universities and power producers. The IRIS<br />
design philosophy is represented by three words: simplicity, economy,<br />
and safety. In addition to electricity production, IRIS is designed for<br />
co-generation, district heating and biofuels production using<br />
low-pressure steam, and can also be coupled with a desalination plant<br />
to produce fresh or potable water.<br />
Maire <strong>Tecnimont</strong>’s involvement relates to the so-called Balance of<br />
Plant (BOP) of the reactor. IRIS’s main features include its very small<br />
emergency planning zone and its simpler, cheaper design, which<br />
compensates for lower economies of scale. Furthermore, there can be<br />
financial advantages in installing several small reactors of the IRIS<br />
type instead of one big reactor of similar capacity - the so-called<br />
economy of multiples. The Design Certification Review should be<br />
completed in the next three years and the first reactor built by 2017.<br />
High Technology in the Natural Gas Chain<br />
Maire <strong>Tecnimont</strong> Group, through its Paris-based subsidiary Sofregaz,<br />
is a recognised worldwide player in the natural gas market. Sofregaz<br />
provides specialist services covering the full chain from field<br />
gathering, treatment, transportation and underground storage to<br />
liquefaction and regasification. Sofregaz has developed expertise to<br />
provide the best technological solutions to clients’ demands. Its<br />
portfolio includes a unique design capability for LNG regasification<br />
equipment, including boil-off gas recondensers, patented<br />
technologies for gas dehydration and air cooling of gas turbines.<br />
Sofregaz is currently working on a number of projects worldwide,<br />
including a syngas purification unit, a biomass-to-liquid (BTL) unit,<br />
CO 2 capture, and the recovery of gas that is currently flared.<br />
CO2<br />
Storage<br />
Capture<br />
Transport<br />
CO2<br />
CO2<br />
Storage<br />
CO2<br />
Oil or Gas<br />
Buffer storage<br />
facility<br />
Methane<br />
Deep aquifers Depleted oil and gas fields Unmineable coal seams<br />
CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE<br />
34 35<br />
CO2<br />
CO2<br />
CO2<br />
New Technology to Combat the Greenhouse Effect:<br />
Carbon Capture and Storage<br />
Climate change and energy demand are the two major challenges of<br />
the future. It is widely recognised that fossil fuels will continue to<br />
play a central role in world energy supply, which will inevitably lead<br />
to an increase in global CO 2 emissions. According to the<br />
International Energy Agency, approximately 69% of world CO 2 and<br />
60% of greenhouse gas emissions are related to energy. CO 2 is<br />
therefore considered to be one of the main enemies of global<br />
sustainability. Without policy changes, CO 2 emissions are predicted<br />
to rise by 130% by 2050. Carbon capture and storage, which can be<br />
applied to fossil fuel power plants and industrial processes, is one<br />
of the most promising technologies for mitigating this trend.<br />
Through its subsidiaries T<strong>ICB</strong> and Sofregaz, 2 Maire <strong>Tecnimont</strong> is<br />
becoming a key player in this promising market. As preferred<br />
contractor of one of the major licensors, it has built several plants<br />
in which CO 2 is recovered from flue gases and used to boost oil and<br />
gas extraction, or to increase the output of existing urea plants. This<br />
technology, now applied mostly to small-scale plants, could become<br />
a potentially huge market if applied to major power stations. In<br />
2008, for example, <strong>Tecnimont</strong> was awarded a contract for the frontend<br />
engineering design of a CO 2 capture plant to be installed at the<br />
gas-fired power station in Karsto, Norway. This will be the world’s<br />
largest application of this technology. Similar designs and studies<br />
are being carried out for important clients in the Middle East.<br />
2 Sofregaz is member of the Club CO2, formed in 2002 on the initiative of ADEME (Agence de l’Environnement<br />
et de la Maitrise de l’Energie) with the support of IFP (Institut Français du Pétrole) and BRGM (Bureau de<br />
Recherches Géologiques et Minières). It represents a key element in the organization of French research<br />
into CO 2 capture and storage.