Enabling Technology Maturation in Carbon Capture: The Role of a University Based Power Plant as a Test Facility

The Abbott Power Plant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) provides a unique facility for testing carbon capture, utilization, and energy storage technologies. This combined heat and power (CHP) facility supplies power and electricity for the needs of the UIUC campus. Despite being an operational plant, Abbott Power Plant is actively engaged in a variety of projects. These projects range in technology readiness level (TRL) and demonstrate the ability of the plant to couple field research with operational excellence. While the plant is a fossil asset (e.g., coal and natural gas boilers), it is connected through the campus grid to renewables. This connectivity provides the ability to evaluate how new technologies (e.g., capture, utilization, and energy storage) respond to variations in the grid due to the increased penetration of variable renewables. Because the plant is located on the UIUC campus, it is also engaged in educational activities at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The ability of the plant to couple operational excellence with research and development (R&D) and education makes it an important asset for the evaluation of new technologies.