Clearing the Path to Commercial-Scale CCS in Pulp and Paper: Inside CO280’s Successful CDR Field Pilot

CO280 and SLB Capturi validate liquid amine technology for pulp and paper carbon capture and storage

At CO280, our goal is to lead the world in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) that sets the highest standards of permanence, quality, and affordability at scale. The successful completion of an on-the-ground carbon capture field pilot with a pulp and paper mill in the U.S. Gulf Coast is a critical step towards achieving that goal and delivering millions of tonnes of low-cost, low-risk CDR by 2030.

Together with SLB Capturi, a leading provider of carbon capture technology, we conducted a carbon capture field pilot to validate the real-world performance of liquid amine carbon capture on biogenic CO2 from pulp and paper mills. The carbon capture system met or exceeded all key performance indicators, from carbon capture rate efficiency to energy consumption, and validated that carbon capture and storage (CCS) for pulp and paper is ready today for commercial-scale deployment.

Read the full press release: CO280 successfully completes carbon capture field pilot at a U.S. pulp and paper mill

Between January and May of 2025, SLB Capturi’s Mobile Test Unit (MTU) ran continuously, exceeding 4,000 hours in total run time and achieving a consistent capture rate efficiency of 95%—meaning that 95% of all biogenic CO2 emissions in the flue gas were successfully intercepted, captured, and processed.

In short: the field pilot proves that CDR from pulp and paper mills is a low risk and near-term carbon removal solution for corporations with serious ambitions to mitigate their carbon footprint —all while supporting domestic manufacturing.

What is a field pilot and why does it matter for CDR?

A field pilot is a real-world test of a technology system under live operating conditions. Unlike experiments or simulations in a lab, a field pilot takes place onsite at a working facility to test new technologies under the same conditions as a full-scale installation. A field pilot reveals ground-truth performance insights that can’t be validated indoors and so helps to accelerate technology deployment into new applications with confidence.

For engineered carbon removal solutions, field pilots are essential—especially for first-of-a-kind integrations like biogenic CCS for the pulp and paper industry. Where lab tests can only evaluate CDR technology in a controlled or simulated environment, a CDR field pilot introduces factors like equipment reliability, energy inputs, and weather and temperature variation, and evaluates performance against those factors.

Additionally, CDR field pilots can test an integrated system, not just individual components. Most engineered CDR pathways involve complex processes like moving air through contactors, handling sorbents, and processing captured CO2 for transportation and storage—all which have varying energy costs. Testing engineered CDR in the field delivers full-process operational data, from true cost-per-tonne estimates to life cycle assessments (LCAs) that helps to de-risk the technology and validate the project’s economic model.

CO280 CDR explained: removing carbon and advancing domestic manufacturing

As a project developer, CO280 has pioneered a new CDR project model of retrofitting pulp and paper mills with modular carbon capture units that can intercept, process, and permanently store biogenic CO2 emissions from recovery boiler flue gas. Here is how it works:

Overview of CO280 CDR project model of retrofitting pulp and paper mills with modular carbon capture units to process and permanently store biogenic CO2 emissions.

Globally, pulp and paper mills emit nearly 600 million tonnes of biogenic CO₂ annually, with each mill averaging about 1 million tonnes per year. This biogenic CO2 originates from managed forests that draw down CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and store that CO2 within their biomass. Managed forests supply both the timber industry—where CO2 continues to be stored in the form of long-lived wood products—and the pulp and paper industry, where unusable biomass from timber mills (such as small-diameter roundwoods, treetops, and sawmill residues) is directed to pulp and paper mills to create essential products like tissue and cardboard packaging.

Typically, the biogenic emissions from pulp and paper biomass are released into the atmosphere as flue gas. CO280 transforms this process by installing modular CCS units that capture biogenic CO2 emissions from boiler flue gas before they are ever emitted.

By integrating CCS into existing mills across North America, CO280 is removing carbon while investing in the rural communities built around those mills—protecting and creating thousands of jobs in domestic forestry and manufacturing.

CO280’s CDR field pilot: testing pulp and paper CCS in the U.S. Gulf Coast

The goal of the U.S. Gulf Coast field pilot was to test liquid amine technology on the specific flue gas emitted at pulp mills. This had never been done before. The pilot’s successful results validate the application of amine carbon capture technology as commercially ready for the pulp and paper industry.

Together with technology provider SLB Capturi, we installed a Mobile Test Unit (MTU) that included all core processes in a full-scale carbon capture system. The MTU design, for example, involved a carbon absorber of the same height as a full-scale plant to ensure that the tests accurately represent realistic industrial conditions.

Over the five months of operation totaling over 4,000 hours, the MTU delivered the following key results:

• 95% capture rate of biogenic CO2;

• Optimal energy consumption;

• Low operational costs;

• Liquid amine solvent durability; and

• Proven mitigation of absorber emissions.

Looking ahead: scaling pulp and paper CCS across North America

The CO280 field pilot represents a critical step forward, unlocking CCS at pulp and paper mills across North America to remove millions of tonnes of CO2 by 2030. By applying liquid amine technology to recovery boiler flue gas at a pulp and paper mill, the field pilot demonstrated that pulp and paper CCS is a real, permanent, and cost-effective carbon removal solution today—not the science fiction of tomorrow.

Ready to remove carbon and support American industry? Contact us to learn more about how pulp and paper CCS can fit into your business strategy through 2030 and beyond.