Inside Baker Hughes & Woodside’s Carbon Capture Investment
Baker Hughes and Woodside Energy, two big players in the global energy market, have announced their intention to collaborate on a new project.
The two companies plan to develop new small-scale decarbonisation solutions using the innovative carbon capture technology patented by US-based firm Net Power.
Net Power says that its method of carbon capture (used in natural gas power plants) can remove around 97% of carbon emissions from the energy production process.
Building on a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding, Baker Hughes and Woodside have signed a Technology Development Agreement (TDA) to assess the feasibility and scalability of Net Power’s patented system.
With the support of Baker Hughes and Woodside, the technology will be well on its way to scaling up.
A focus on feasibility and scalability
As the exclusive provider of the small-scale Net Power platform, Baker Hughes will leverage its expertise to evaluate how the technology can be implemented for various industrial power generation needs.
The initiative will also explore opportunities for bringing additional development partners into the fold, ensuring the solution is adaptable to different market demands.
“This agreement further strengthens our long-standing relationship across the natural gas value chain and our shared journey in the energy transition,” said Julie Fallon, Executive Vice President of Technical and Energy Development at Woodside Energy.
“We are excited to continue our collaboration with Baker Hughes and leverage their leading-edge technology and our combined engineering and CCUS capabilities to explore and develop lower-carbon emissions alternative power solutions using Net Power’s platform.”
The TDA will benefit from ongoing development and testing at Net Power’s demonstration facility in La Porte, Texas, as well as its planned first utility-scale power plant near Midland, Texas.
These efforts will be instrumental in determining the technical and economic viability of deploying the technology at smaller scales.
The role of Net Power’s technology
Net Power’s system operates by combusting natural gas in pure oxygen rather than air, which produces a stream of high-purity CO₂ as a by-product.
This CO₂ can then be captured and stored or utilised for industrial applications, reducing overall emissions.
The technology aims to provide reliable and cost-effective power generation while significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions, a critical factor in the energy transition.
“Baker Hughes is committed to providing innovative solutions that support the decarbonisation of the energy and industrial sectors, and we are honoured to share this journey with our long-standing customer Woodside Energy,” said Alessandro Bresciani, Senior Vice President of Climate Technology Solutions at Baker Hughes.
“We believe this framework represents the partnerships and collaborations necessary to develop and scale the energy solutions that support decarbonisation while also meeting the world’s growing energy demand.”
Implications for industrial decarbonisation
The collaboration between Baker Hughes and Woodside Energy is set against the backdrop of increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources.
Many industrial processes still rely on natural gas, making the development of carbon capture and low-emission power solutions crucial for reducing their environmental impact.
“Net Power applauds the enhanced collaboration between Woodside and our partner Baker Hughes. This work has the potential to bring our technology platform to a broader array of end markets and applications, complementing our utility-scale program and strategy,” said Danny Rice, CEO of Net Power.
As energy companies face increasing scrutiny from investors and regulators, partnerships like this signal a broader industry shift towards integrating decarbonisation technologies.
If successful, the small-scale Net Power platform could provide a blueprint for reducing emissions in industrial sectors that have traditionally been difficult to decarbonise.
“Today’s announcement is a tangible commitment to continue technology innovation and market development for the Net Power platform and to bring ultra-low emissions energy solutions to a power-hungry world,” Danny says.
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