Left-right: Tom Cantero, Svein Gunnar Nodeland and Tommy Hansen at Air Products were honored at the ONS Innovation Award in Stavanger Tuesday.

“Just by being nominated, we are inspired to continue to work towards our ultimate goal: A full-scale CO2-capture system within 2020”.

Says Process Manager Svein Gunnar Nodeland and CEO Tom Cantero at Air Products. The Kristiansand-based company was one of five finalists selected for the prestigious ONS Innovation Award, recognizing innovative companies with cutting-edge technology.

The winner of the award, Island Offshore, was announced at ONS Tuesday.

“Among 130 entries, we are extremely proud to be selected as one of five finalists. We are thrilled to be recognized as an innovative company that works to solve one of the major problems connected to a deteriorating climate and global warming”, says Cantero.

The Air Products project “CO2 Capture by Membrane Technology” aims to produce a full-scale CO2-capture system. A pilot is already in operation at a cement factory in Brevik, Norway.

“Results are very encouraging. The exhaust gas we process contains 17 percent CO2. After it has passed through our membranes, our goal is to achieve 95 percent in the CO2 capture stream”, explains Nodeland.

A larger test plant is soon to be added, in a further development to a full-scale system.

“The technology is scalable. We just keep adding membranes to process a larger volume. Right now we are working on optimizing the size of a commercial membrane”, says Nodeland.