Veolia and Sheffield City Council are trialling a non-amine carbon capture system at the city’s energy recovery facility, a UK first that captures up to a tonne of CO2 a day.
The demonstration project, announced on 4 August, tests a solvent developed by clean technology firm C-Capture and first discovered by researchers at the University of Leeds. The system absorbs CO2 from the facility’s flue gas before it reaches the atmosphere, then regenerates the solvent so it can be used again.
It is the first UK trial of a next-generation, non-amine alternative to conventional amine-based capture in the waste sector. The trial forms part of Veolia’s GreenUp programme, which backs affordable, replicable technologies for cutting carbon emissions.
Why the solvent is important
Amine solvents are the industry standard for post-combustion carbon capture. C-Capture’s non-amine chemistry is designed as a lower-cost, safer and more energy-efficient alternative, particularly for difficult applications such as flue gas from energy-from-waste plants. Because the equipment is modular, it could be added to a wide range of industrial sites without changing how they operate.
“Successfully operating our technology at the Sheffield site is a major milestone,” said Greg Searle, commercial director at C-Capture.
Beyond the carbon clusters
The UK government has committed up to £21.7bn over 25 years to support carbon capture and storage, and projects the industry could add £5bn a year to the economy by 2050. Most of that funding is concentrated on designated industrial clusters. Veolia points out that more than half of UK emissions arise outside those clusters, so modular technologies of this kind could matter for dispersed, land-locked sites across the country.
A two-year test of the economics
For now, the captured CO2 is released again during testing while engineers validate performance, safety and efficiency, including how well the solvent stands up to repeated regeneration. Over two years, the trial is intended to produce a commercial blueprint for capturing, storing and using carbon from local waste facilities.
“Carbon capture is one of the tools available to help decarbonise residual emissions where they cannot yet be avoided,” said Donald Macphail, chief operating officer for treatment at Veolia UK. “However, achieving net zero also requires continued progress in waste prevention, recycling and circular economy solutions to reduce emissions at source.”
Cllr Mark Rusling, chair of the environmental services and regulation policy committee at Sheffield City Council, called it “the largest project of its kind in South Yorkshire”.
