Babcock & Wilcox News

• Jointly developed chemical looping process is used in B&W’s BrightLoop decarbonization and hydrogen production technology
• Can produce hydrogen, steam or syngas from variety of fuels

(AKRON, Ohio – November 2, 2021) – Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) (NYSE: BW) announced today that it has signed an agreement with the Ohio State Innovation Foundation for an exclusive, worldwide commercial license for a chemical looping process and particle used for decarbonization and the production of hydrogen, steam and/or syngas, which complements B&W’s existing technology portfolio.  

B&W and The Ohio State University jointly researched, developed and demonstrated the technology, which B&W offers under the BrightLoop name as part of its innovative ClimateBright™ suite of decarbonization and hydrogen production technologies. B&W and Ohio State researchers have successfully demonstrated production of hydrogen from syngas at the U.S National Carbon Capture Center. The BrightLoop process uses an exceptionally versatile, abundant oxide particle and can be used with many fuels, including natural gas, biogases, petroleum coke, coal, and biogas from municipal solid waste for waste-to-energy and syngas.

“B&W’s BrightLoop process is a game-changing solution for clean energy production with near zero carbon emissions,” said Brandy Johnson, B&W Vice President Global Engineering. “The research conducted by Ohio State and B&W has demonstrated not only the effectiveness of the technology to efficiently separate CO₂ while producing hydrogen, steam and/or syngas but also how it is fully scalable, adaptable and economically feasible for large and small installations.”

The BrightLoop oxide particle, which was developed exclusively by Ohio State researchers, is also economical and can be readily regenerated, which provides extended particle life and lower operating costs in an environmentally friendly way, unlike other chemical looping systems that use copper, nickel, cobalt or other materials which are difficult to source and dispose. 

“This license agreement, aimed at the commercialization of this chemical looping technology, represents an extraordinary milestone in my journey which began 30 years ago,” said Liang-Shih Fan, Ohio State Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “The dedicated and long-enduring effort and commitment of my team at Ohio State have overcome various challenges through our multiscale-based fundamental, multifaceted approaches.”

“The key to its success is the Ohio State exclusive development of the patented oxygen carrier and the moving bed reduction platform,” Fan said. “We appreciate the strong partnership with Babcock & Wilcox in the successful earlier demonstrations of two large pilot units to ascertain the scaling effects of the technology for hydrogen and heat generation.”

B&W’s ClimateBright suite of technologies have application for a wide range of industries including petrochemical processing, oil & gas, hydrogen production, energy production and energy storage, food manufacturing, steel, cement, pharmaceutical, carbon black, and pulp and paper among others.

B&W’s ClimateBright solutions include:

• BrightLoop^TM technology to produce hydrogen, steam or syngas from a variety of fuels or feedstocks while isolating CO₂ for capture or other industrial purposes
• SolveBright^TM regenerable solvent technology for carbon capture processes
• OxyBright^TM combustion process ideal for CO₂ isolation and sequestration applications
• BrightGen^TM hydrogen combustion technology

B&W’s 20-year license gives it the exclusive right to market and sell the licensed technology to industrial and utility customers anywhere in the world, in conjunction with B&W’s own proprietary BrightLoop technology.

“BrightLoop technology is an ideal solution for hydrogen producers, petrochemical facilities, oil & gas producers, utilities, manufacturers or other industrial companies that want to generate clean hydrogen, syngas and energy with near-zero carbon emissions,” Johnson said. “We’re currently in discussions with customers about opportunities for using this technology in their operations, and we are eager to look for additional opportunities to scale up this breakthrough technology for commercial use. We also look forward to further developing complementary technologies through our continuing collaboration with Ohio State. They have been ideal partners throughout the research and development process and we look forward to continuing to work closely together as we bring BrightLoop technology to B&W’s customers.”

To learn more about B&W’s ClimateBright technologies, visit babcock.com/decarbonization.

About Babcock & Wilcox

Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises is a leader in energy and environmental products and services for power and industrial markets worldwide. Follow us on LinkedIn and learn more at babcock.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

B&W cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to the signing of an exclusive commercial licensing agreement for chemical looping technology for decarbonization and hydrogen production, and commercialization opportunities related thereto. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For a more complete discussion of these risk factors, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. If one or more of these risks or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.

###