JERA, Newlab Join Forces to Commercialize Next-Gen Carbon Capture for Power Sector

JERA Ventures and Newlab New Orleans formed a strategic partnership to commercialize point-source carbon-capture technologies for power generation facilities. The partners will advance next-generation capture systems, such as advanced solvents, solid sorbents, membranes, and hybrid configurations, to materially enhance energy efficiency, process durability, and cost performance. Technology startups will be connected to industrial environments, accelerating the journey from validated pilot performance to commercial deployment.

“JERA Ventures was created to identify, test, and scale breakthrough technologies that can transform the future of global energy systems,” said Takeshi Kodama, Head of JERA Ventures. “Through our partnership with Newlab New Orleans, we can validate promising solutions in industrial environments, paving the way for pilot projects and the eventual deployment of commercial-scale technologies capable of supporting power systems across our global markets.”

The collaboration is supported by Newlab’s public-private partnership in Louisiana, which utilizes the state’s firm industrial base to collect and commercialize critical technologies across advanced fuels, carbon management, shipping and maritime, and other industrial decarbonization pathways. Infrastructure, industry and government partners, and capital will be combined to assist startups with testing, iterating, and scaling technologies while driving regional economic growth.

“Louisiana sits at the center of one of the world's most energy-intensive industrial corridors, and the solutions we validate here have global relevance,” said Sahil Jain, VP of Strategy at Newlab. “Through our partnership with JERA, we are creating a platform to directly evaluate next-generation carbon capture technologies on real-world flue gas profiles. Our goal is to de-risk technologies that meet the power sector's most urgent decarbonization needs and move faster toward first-of-a-kind deployment.”

Newlab New Orleans is currently evaluating power generation facilities capable of hosting a demonstration-scale project for a selected startup and, in partnership with JERA, will leverage the results to scale carbon capture and power decarbonization efforts in Louisiana and other global markets.

The rapid growth of advanced manufacturing, data centers, and other energy-intensive industries is causing global power demand to skyrocket, but especially in Louisiana and the broader Gulf Coast region. This market trend emphasizes the need for resilient, low-carbon power to serve industrial loads while also complying with global emissions regulations. Carbon capture can help meet this demand; however, typical CO₂-capture systems are challenged by the low CO₂ concentrations present in the flue gas from combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT). If left unaddressed, the system will experience high energy penalties and solvent degradation, so removing these constraints is required to decarbonize existing and future CCGT units.

CCUS Value Chain

In late June 2025, JERA Co. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint study focused on creating a carbon capture, utilization, and storage value chain at the Yokosuka Thermal Power Station in Kurihama, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The two companies plan to conduct demonstration testing using KHI’s advanced carbon-capture equipment at the Yokosuka Thermal Power Station, which is operated by JERA's subsidiary, JERA Power Yokosuka G.K., before 2030. This will mark the first time CO₂ capture facilities will be installed at a coal-fired thermal power plant on Tokyo Bay.