8th October 2013

First commercial-scale carbon capture and mineralisation plant in the U.S. begins construction

Skyonic Corporation has hosted a groundbreaking event at its Capitol SkyMine plant in San Antonio. The plant, which is the first of its kind in the United States, is expected to capture 300,000 tons of CO2 annually.

Although miniscule when compared to the nation's total CO2 output (which currently stands at 5.5 billion tons annually), Skyonic's new plant is a vital first step on the long road to decarbonisation. Once fully operational in 2014, it will capture around 75,000 tons directly, with an additional 225,000 tons being offset by the production of green products. The plant is expected to turn a profit within three years from the sale of products including sodium bicarbonate, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and bleach.

"The beginning of construction is a major milestone on the road to commercialisation," said Greg Hale, the President of Capitol Aggregates. "When Skyonic began operating its demonstration plant at Capitol Aggregates several years ago, we were excited about the prospect of producing more sustainable cement. Now that the project has reached a commercial scale, we couldn't be happier to have such a revolutionary process at our cement factory."

Skyonic has operated a demonstration-scale plant at the Capitol Aggregates site since 2010, with on-going support from the San Antonio community. The commercial-scale Capitol SkyMine plant will employ roughly 35 people and is expected to create more than 200 jobs through its construction and on-going operations.

"I applaud the Zachry Corporation and Skyonic for setting the standard with the first commercial carbon capture plant of its kind," Mayor Julián Castro said. "This project is another example of how San Antonio is becoming a leader in combining green technology and job creation."

Skyonic's electrolytic carbon capture technology – SkyMine – will selectively capture CO2, acid gases and heavy metals from the flue gas of the Capitol Aggregates Cement Plant, where the Capitol SkyMine plant will be retrofitted. The captured pollutants will be mineralised into products which are stored, transported and sold as safe, stable solids – eliminating many of the costs and concerns associated with other capture. The sodium bicarbonate, as well as the hydrochloric acid and bleach that is produced, can be sold at a profit. By producing valuable products using low cost chemical inputs and operating at energy efficient conditions, SkyMine captures CO2 at substantially lower operating cost than other technologies, allowing industrial emitters to turn a profit from reduced emissions.

"Industrial manufacturing is a cornerstone of the global economy and we're doing our part in making the process more lucrative for industries and cleaner for the environment," said Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic. "Our partners and investors have played an important role in getting to this commercialisation stage – and we're all looking forward to starting construction and making our first plant a stand out success."

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