US: Texas-based cement producer Capitol Aggregates Cement is preparing to retrofit a carbon capture plant to its cement plant. The project, in conjunction with Skyonic Corporation, is expected to profitably removal more than 300,000t of CO₂ from the plant's emissions.

"The Capitol SkyMine plant will mark the first time that carbon-negative chemistry has reached the commercial stage," said Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic. Skyonic Corporation has secured US$128m funding to support the project from new investors Cenovus Energy, BlueCap Partners, Toyo-Thai Corporation and Energy Technology Ventures. The funds will also help support Skyonic's other global projects, research and development and operations expenses. In addition the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory will provide US$28m towards the project.

The retrofit plant is expected to directly capture 83,000t of CO₂ from the Capitol Aggregates' emissions. In addition by using this captured CO₂ to make products that would otherwise generate additional CO₂ , the plant will offset an additional 220,000t/yr, once fully operational in 2014. Skyonic is also expected to create more than 200 jobs through the plant's construction and ongoing operations.

Skyonic's electrolytic SkyMine(R) technology will selectively capture CO₂, acid gases and heavy metals from the flue gas and mineralise the captured pollutants into safe, stable, solid products. Skyonic state that their carbon capture process does so at a lower cost than its competitors. The plant is expected to turn a profit from the sale of these products within three years.