The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the TerraSpark Energy Campus to receive up to $18.5 million in federal funding to finance development of an innovative, large-scale coal-fired power and carbon capture project in West Virginia. The funding will help advance front-end engineering and design (FEED), permitting work, and early technical studies.

The TerraSpark Energy Campus will deliver 1.6 gigawatts of electricity using next-generation coal-fired power integrated with innovative carbon capture technology, at a greenfield facility located near the existing Mt. Storm energy complex in Grant County. In a statement announcing the founding TerraSpark stated that the project would bring together a consortium of industry leaders to deliver reliable and affordable around-the-clock electricity for growing industrial demand.

Mantel is to be the project’s carbon capture technology partner. According to TerraSpark’s statement, its molten borate carbon capture system is designed to capture up to 98% of CO₂ emissions while reducing the energy required for carbon capture by more than 97% compared to current technologies, enabling carbon capture at less than half the cost per tonne of today’s state-of-the-art technologies.

The statement quotes Cameron Halliday, co-founder and CEO of Mantel, who said: “In an era of energy abundance, the world needs all forms of low-carbon and reliable energy working efficiently together. Projects like TerraSpark’s Energy Campus are an important step forward, demonstrating how next-generation carbon capture can help ensure the industries powering our world remain strong, competitive, and part of a lower-carbon future.”

The project consortium includes engineering firm Sargent & Lundy, and Babcock & Wilcox, which will provide expertise in advanced boiler systems and power generation technologies. Advanced Resources International, which will support carbon dioxide management, transportation, storage, and utilisation planning.

TerraSpark says the consortium is fully committed to developing the TerraSpark Energy Campus in close coordination with local stakeholders to ensure the project will also offer long-term, local economic development opportunities to the community. Plans include a 10-acre West Virginia Coal Innovation & Training Centre managed by West Virginia University for rare earth extraction and advanced materials, and other innovative waste-to-value initiatives. At full buildout, the project is expected to support nearly 500 permanent jobs and hundreds of additional construction jobs, while establishing West Virginia as a hub for advanced energy, waste-to-value, and carbon management technologies.