The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the TerraSpark Energy Campus for up to $18.5 million in federal funding to support front-end engineering and design (FEED), permitting, and early technical studies for a proposed 1.6-gigawatt (GW) coal-fired power facility integrated with next-generation carbon capture technology. The project is planned for a greenfield site near the existing Mt. Storm energy complex in Grant County, West Virginia.
Mantel is serving as the project's carbon capture technology partner. Mantel's molten borate carbon capture system is designed, according to the company, to capture up to 98% of CO2 emissions while reducing the energy required for capture by more than 97% compared to current technologies, at less than half the cost per tonne of today's leading approaches. These performance claims are based on company projections and have not yet been independently verified at commercial scale. The project consortium also includes engineering firm Sargent & Lundy; Babcock & Wilcox, which will provide advanced boiler systems and power generation expertise; and Advanced Resources International, which will support carbon dioxide management, transportation, storage, and utilization planning.
At full buildout, TerraSpark says the campus would support nearly 500 permanent jobs and hundreds of additional construction positions. Plans include a 10-acre West Virginia Coal Innovation and Training Centre managed by West Virginia University, focused on rare earth extraction, advanced materials, and other waste-to-value initiatives. The current DOE award funds engineering and regulatory groundwork; construction and operations would require additional approvals and investment.
