PeroCycle has signed strategic partnerships with Chinese gas separation and purification company Beijing Peking University Pioneer Technology Corporation Ltd. (PKU Pioneer) and international engineering consultancy io consulting, aimed at accelerating the development and commercialization of its perovskite-based carbon recycling technology for foundation industries such as steel, cement and chemicals.
PeroCycle's technology, developed at the University of Birmingham, uses a perovskite catalyst to split CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO) at significantly lower temperatures than conventional methods. The captured CO2 is converted back into CO for reuse on site as a substitute for fossil-based reducing agents like coal and coke, creating a localized, closed-loop carbon economy that the company says can reduce carbon emissions in sectors like steelmaking by up to 90%. Because the technology can be retrofitted into existing facilities as well as built into new plants, PeroCycle positions it as a way to avoid both stranded assets and the high capital cost of new-build "green" plants.
The PKU Pioneer agreement is a staged, multi-year partnership laying out a roadmap for the design, construction and commissioning of PeroCycle's first commercial-scale facility, combining PeroCycle's catalyst technology with PKU Pioneer's engineering expertise in gas separation and purification. Grant Budge, CEO of PeroCycle, said: "Partnering with PKU Pioneer is a transformative milestone for PeroCycle. Their experience in delivering large-scale industrial gas plants provides the engineering support for our balance of plant we need to move from the lab to commercialization. This collaboration ensures that our FOAK plant is built with a foundation of proven industrial excellence, providing the technical certainty our investors and steel-industry partners demand."
Under the io consulting partnership, io will provide technical support through pilot plant development, then take on Front End Engineering Design and Owner's Engineer duties for a proposed 20 kilotonne-per-annum (CO2 treated) demonstration plant, followed by a 2 megatonne-per-annum (CO2 treated) first-of-a-kind (FOAK) commercial facility.
Budge said: "Partnering with io consulting marks a pivotal milestone in our journey from the laboratory to industrial scale. Our technology is designed to be a 'plug-and-play' solution for the world's most carbon-intensive industries, and io's world-class engineering pedigree provides the certainty required to deploy at pace. Together, we are proving that heavy industry can achieve net-zero goals while actually improving operational efficiency and reducing long-term costs."
