B&W, Kiewit to develop biomass-to-energy plant in Louisiana

Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), based in Akron, Ohio, has announced that it will partner with Kiewit Industrial, Omaha, Nebraska, to deliver Fidelis New Energy’s planned net-negative carbon impact biomass power plant at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The 200-megawatt electric plant will be the “largest of its kind in the world,” according to B&W.

The planned facility, called Project Cyclus, will provide power for Fidelis’ state-of-the-art, 73,000-barrel-per-day Grön Fuels facility, which will produce sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, green hydrogen and bio-plastic feedstock. Fidelis will sequester the biogenic CO2 in a carbon sink developed and secured by its subsidiary Capio Sequestration pursuant to the previously announced operating agreement between Capio and the state of Louisiana.

B&W will provide engineering, design, equipment and technology services to support the development of the biomass-fueled plant. The company’s B&W Renewable business segment will design and supply a 200-megawatt electric, biomass-fueled bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler, while its B&W Environmental segment will provide its OxyBright oxy-combustion technology to isolate and capture CO2 for long-term sequestration. In addition, B&W Environmental will provide a full suite of environmental technologies to control other emissions, including nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, particulate and volatile organic compounds.

The plant will utilize these technologies to produce clean energy with a net-negative carbon impact of over two million tons per year.

“We are excited to partner with Fidelis to provide our advanced technologies to assist in the development of green fuels that have a negative net carbon impact in the United States,” says B&W Chairman and CEO Kenny Young. “We are also in discussions with Fidelis on the creation of green hydrogen from biomass utilizing our Brightloop chemical looping process, which will revolutionize hydrogen production globally. We look forward to continuing our joint efforts with Fidelis to create green fuels for use around the world.”

“To design, develop and deliver our climate impact infrastructure systems at scale, Fidelis requires best in class strategic partners, and after significant work and diligence, we are excited to have selected and joined forces with Babcock & Wilcox and Kiewit as our technology and execution partners,” says Dan Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Fidelis.

B&W’s OxyBright technology is part of the company’s ClimateBright suite of decarbonization and hydrogen technologies. This oxy-combustion process, which uses pure oxygen for combustion, can be used with a broad range of fuels to produce a concentrated stream of CO2 ready for sequestration or beneficial use. For the Cyclus project, the OxyBright process will use biomass fuel–including wood chips, wood waste, bagasse or other opportunity fuels–while captured CO2 will be sequestered underground.

B&W’s BFB boilers are well-suited to integrate with the oxy-combustion process and are designed to operate using a wide range of fuels, separately or in combination. The ability to utilize various fuel sources and types provides owners with the flexibility to take advantage of opportunity fuels and control fuel costs, according to B&W.