Timeline
Powerspan’s history dates back to 1994 when co-founders S. Edward Neister, a physicist; Nathaniel M. Johnson, an electrical engineer; and Frank Alix, a nuclear engineer with experience in venture investing, founded Zero Emission Technology Inc. The company’s initial product was designed to improve the performance of a power plant’s existing particulate control equipment.
As we grew, our technology evolved into an integrated multi-pollutant control process, in anticipation of requirements related to the Clean Air Act. Reflecting our focus on next generation clean energy technology for the electric power industry, Zero Emissions Technology became Powerspan Corp. in 2000.
Since then we have field tested our multi-pollutant control technology, which we now offer commercially. Since 2004, we have been developing and testing a carbon capture process for power plants and today, we are considered a leading provider of carbon capture technology.
The timeline below chronicles our history and highlights significant company, technology, and partner milestones.
| Date | Milestone
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| March 1994 | Company incorporates. Initially provide technology to control particulate emissions from coal-fired electric power plants.
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| October 1996 | Develop the concept for ECO® multi-pollutant control technology for SO2, NOX, mercury, and fine particulate matter control; file our first patent application.
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| September 1997 | Successfully demonstrate ECO technology on a lab scale.
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| December 1997 | Initiate a $4.8 million ECO pilot test program, funded by FirstEnergy at its R.E. Burger Plant.
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| February 1999 | Receive our first ECO technology related patent.
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| May 1999 | Achieve first successful run of the ECO pilot unit at the Burger Plant.
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| December 2001 | Receive first commercial order to install a 50-MW ECO system at the Burger Plant.
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| February 2004 | Begin integrated system testing of the 50-MW ECO unit at the Burger Plant.
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| May 2004 | Enter into a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop a cost-effective CO2 removal process for coal-fired power plants.
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| September 2005 | Successfully complete a 6-month performance run of the 50-MW ECO unit at the Burger Plant. FirstEnergy announces plans to pilot test our ECO2® CO2 capture technology at the Burger Plant.
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| December 2007 | Announce exclusive license of patent granted to the U.S. DOE NETL. DOE patent represents the only one issued in the U.S. to date covering a regenerative process for CO2 capture with an ammonia-based solution.
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| December 2008 | Commissioning of the ECO2 pilot facility completed and pilot testing begins at the Burger Plant.
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| December 2009 | Announce successful pilot test results of our ECO2 carbon capture technology.
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| May 2010 | Announce results of independent assessment of our ECO2 carbon capture technology. Assessment conducted by WorleyParsons Group Inc. |