NET Power syncs 50 MW facility powered by natural gas, CO2 with Texas grid

Carbon-free electricity was successfully delivered onto the ERCOT Texas grid for the first time this week from a 50 MW test facility owned by NET Power — marking a watershed moment for the company, the state, and the world.

NET Power, a clean energy company determined to produce zero-emission electricity from natural gas, hailed the moment as a technology breakthrough, given what its facility runs on. Based in La Porte, Texas, the testing site burns natural gas with oxygen and utilizes supercritical CO2 as a working fluid in place of steam to generate its electricity. It also captures CO2 for this process, which can be stored for later or utilized outright, making the effort both carbon-free in the electricity it produces and low-cost.

Successfully putting that energy back onto the grid, though, was a first for NET Power and the first time it has been achieved worldwide.

“This is a Wright-brothers-first-flight kind of breakthrough for energy— zero-emission, low-cost electricity delivered to the grid from natural gas-fueled technology,” Ron DeGregorio, NET Power CEO, said. “Now we can expand on our deep bench of partners to accelerate development of commercial NET Power projects around the world that are urgently needed to help achieve aggressive climate targets at an affordable price.”

With the successful test, the company showed the viability of the technology and hopes it will accelerate commercialization. Additional NET Power plants are already under development, with multiple clients working to bring others online within five years. Such efforts have already gone global: projects are slated for the United States, Canada, and the U.K.