PR98618

LONDON and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., November 3, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

A solution to evaluate global coal fleets for conversion to emissions-free

sources

TerraPraxis is making available for the first time on Nov. 7 its new EVALUATE

application, which enables coal plant owners and investors around the world to

evaluate hundreds of coal plants for fast, low-cost, and repeatable conversion

to emissions-free power generation sources. The non-profit seeks to accelerate

solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, which includes the global fleet of

2,400 coal plants.

Replacing existing coal boilers with a new generation of advanced fission,

fusion, and geothermal heat sources would enable coal plants to stop burning

coal—today the single largest source of global carbon emissions—and continue

operation emissions-free for decades to come. The application will be free and

is designed to help every coal plant owner in the world, as well as potential

investors, conduct an initial analysis of the business case, including

estimated costs and schedule, for upgrading existing coal plants.

The target total cost for repowering is $2,000/kWe, with a target project

duration of fewer than 5 years.

Repowering coal plants with emissions-free heat sources would save thousands of

jobs by repurposing the facilities rather than shutting them down and would

save millions of dollars of capital cost by reusing the existing infrastructure

and transmission lines. This has the power to radically accelerate a clean and

equitable energy transition while providing secure, reliable, and clean energy

to millions of people worldwide.

"Repurposing existing coal and gas plants with advanced nuclear technologies

creates new opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure, transmission

lines, industry knowledge, workforces, capital, and supply chains to support

decarbonization of the global economy at speed and scale," said Eric Ingersoll,

Co-Founder and Managing Partner, TerraPraxis

The solution comes following a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, who

helped develop the application. It is being unveiled for the first time in

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt at COP27, an annual gathering with world leaders on

climate action. The solution is built on Microsoft Azure, and takes advantage

of Azure's compute and AI capabilities to analyze the details of every coal

plant in the world for suitable SMR configurations to repower. It then

generates the financial and technical details for each repowering project and

uses Microsoft Power Platform to make these available for coal plant owners in

a self-service portal hosted by TerraPraxis.

"The world needs more energy, not less," said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and

President, Microsoft. "To reach net zero, we must come together and develop new

sustainable power sources, as well as transform what already exists.

TerraPraxis' solution to transform coal-fired power plants into carbon-free

energy sources is a great example of the innovation the world will need to

create a sustainable future."

"Repurposing existing fossil infrastructure can also help ensure continuity for

communities reliant on existing power plants for energy, jobs, tax revenue, and

continued economic development. Leveraging the power of AI and cloud computing

can further accelerate the cost-effective upgrading of coal and gas plant sites

with new advanced heat sources," said Kirsty Gogan, Co-Founder and Managing

Partner, TerraPraxis

The historic Paris Agreement reached at COP21 in December 2015 states that

emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050 to limit

global warming to 1.5°C. Progress since has not been rapid enough, with global

emissions continuing to rise each year, especially for the world's most

polluting energy source: coal. With just 27 years (9,900 days) to 2050, the

speed and scale of the clean energy transition require the unprecedented

deployment of new technologies to meet rising global energy demand—both

cost-effectively and without emissions.

To meet this need, TerraPraxis is leading a global consortium—including

regulators, governments, utilities, heat source vendors, operators, designers,

and assemblers—to resolve the major barriers to rapid deployment of

emission-free heat sources, leveraging the power of standardized designs, AI,

cloud computing, and big data. Project stakeholders are pursuing the

development of an open architecture REPOWER platform, which would enable all

project parties to work together to transform project design, licensing,

development, and delivery.

In addition to partnerships with Microsoft, Bryden Wood, MIT, and University at

Buffalo, TerraPraxis has recently entered a series of strategic collaborations

with the following world-class industry partners and sustainability leaders.

Schneider Electric and TerraPraxis have entered a strategic partnership that

will leverage Schneider Electric's leadership in cutting-edge technology and

global manufacturing to deliver proven technologies to accelerate this energy

transition and help TerraPraxis pave the way for new, more agile plants that

can be built faster and lower customer costs.

TerraPraxis is actively engaged with several heat source vendors to develop a

standardized systems interface that works between a variety of emission-free

heat sources and coal-fired power plants. A Letter of Intent with Terrestrial

Energy has already been entered into, with several others to follow to join the

consortium.

TerraPraxis has been working with a group of utilities, including some of the

largest in the world, and is now seeking candidates to join their Customer

Advisory Group. TerraPraxis has entered a strategic partnership with Elementl

Power, an advanced nuclear development company that identifies, acquires, and

prepares locations throughout the U.S. for the deployment of advanced nuclear

technologies. As part of their strategy to accelerate the deployment of clean,

baseload power, Elementl intends to use the EVALUATE application to diligence

the acquisition and conversion of coal plants to advanced nuclear. Elementl

Power is a portfolio company of Breakwater North, a private investment firm

focused on opportunities in the nuclear and clean energy sectors.

"TerraPraxis' Repowering Coal solution is targeting a Levelized Cost of Energy

of $35 – $40 per megawatt-hour (not including tax credits). In the United

States, the new production tax credit of $30 per megawatt-hour, provisioned by

the Inflation Reduction Act, makes repowering coal-fired plants with advanced

nuclear technologies a highly profitable investment opportunity," said Eric

Ingersoll.

Join TerraPraxis for a demo of the application at the Microsoft Pavilion (Green

Zone) on Nov. 8, 9, and 11.

Additional information:

Visit terrapraxis.org/

The EVALUATE application will be freely available here: terrapraxisrepower.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1937418/TerraPraxis_EVALUATE_app.jpg

SOURCE: TerraPraxis