'A major milestone': Northern Ireland carbon capture firm secures €14.6m EU backing for French project
The funding will support Nuada’s first-of-its-kind project in France, where its technology will capture carbon dioxide for the production of 10,000 tonnes of biogenic liquid CO₂ annually
A Belfast-based carbon capture technology company has secured €14.6m in European Union funding to advance a pioneering project in France.
Nuada’s SCALA project has been selected for support from the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest funding programmes for low-carbon technologies.
The project will see Nuada deploy its AdSpire carbon capture technology at a biomass cogeneration plant operated by Idex in Hauts-de-France, with the facility expected to produce 10,000 tonnes of biogenic liquid carbon dioxide annually.
The funding award is a significant milestone for the company as it looks to move its technology towards wider commercial deployment.
Based in Newtownabbey, Nuada was one of 77 projects selected from 358 applications across Europe to receive a share of €3.4bn in funding through the latest Innovation Fund call. The project has also been awarded the European Commission’s STEP Seal, recognising its contribution to Europe’s strategic technology priorities.
Nuada’s AdSpire process combines advanced vacuum technology with specialist chemistry to capture carbon dioxide. The fully electric, solvent-free system is designed to reduce energy consumption and make carbon capture more affordable for industrial businesses.
Co-chief executive Jose Casaban said: “SCALA represents a major milestone in the commercial deployment of our AdSpire technology. The Innovation Fund’s support is a powerful endorsement of our breakthrough carbon capture technology. It reflects the success of our pilot programmes, and the expertise, innovation and capability of our team to execute at scale.”
Co-chief executive Conor Hamill said making carbon capture cheaper and easier to integrate into existing industrial facilities was essential to increasing its adoption.
“Carbon capture is critical infrastructure for industrial decarbonisation, but to achieve deployment at the scale required, it needs to be cheaper and easier to integrate into existing industrial assets,” he said.
“SCALA is a major step towards demonstrating how Nuada can make CCUS affordable and a cornerstone for the economically viable deployment of commercial CCS at scale.”
The French project builds on Nuada’s industrial pilot campaigns, including a recent demonstration at enfinium’s Ferrybridge-1 facility in West Yorkshire.
The EU Innovation Fund is financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System and supports the development and commercialisation of innovative low-carbon technologies.
Nuada is developing carbon capture systems designed to address the cost, energy consumption and integration challenges associated with conventional CO₂ capture.