Newlab New Orleans and Japan's largest power generation company JERA Co., Inc. have entered into a strategic partnership through JERA Ventures, the corporate venture arm of JERA, to commercialize next-generation point-source carbon capture technologies applied to power generation facilities.
Global power demand is rising dramatically, driven by rapid growth in advanced manufacturing, data centers, and other energy-intensive industries. In regions like Louisiana and the broader Gulf Coast, this surge underscores a critical need for firm, low-carbon power that can reliably serve industrial loads while aligning with global emissions reduction targets.
Carbon capture represents a critical pathway to meet this demand. However, traditional CO2 capture systems face significant challenges when dealing with the relatively low CO2 concentrations found in the flue gas from combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs), resulting in high energy penalties and solvent degradation. Addressing these constraints is essential to decarbonizing existing and future CCGT assets. JERA and Newlab seek to advance next-generation capture technologies, including advanced solvents, solid sorbents, membranes, and hybrid configurations, that can materially improve energy efficiency, process durability, and cost performance. By connecting promising startups to industrial environments, the collaboration is structured to accelerate the path 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."
This initiative is anchored by Newlab's public–private partnership in Louisiana, which leverages the state's long-standing industrial base to attract and commercialize critical technologies across carbon management, advanced fuels, shipping and maritime, and related industrial decarbonization pathways. The platform brings together infrastructure, industry and government partners, and capital to help startups test, iterate, and scale solutions while driving new economic growth in the region. Newlab is working with regional partners to assess existing power generation facilities that could host a demonstration-scale project, in partnership with a selected startup and JERA.
"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."
This partnership builds on JERA's continued engagement in Louisiana's dynamic energy economy, including its development of the world's largest low-carbon ammonia facility, its ownership stake in the state's largest solar installation — the 300-megawatt Oxbow Solar Farm — and investment in upstream shale gas assets in the Haynesville basin. Together, these initiatives reflect JERA's mission to provide cutting-edge solutions to the world's energy issues.
Looking ahead, Newlab and JERA intend to leverage the applied learnings from this initiative to scale carbon capture and power decarbonization efforts in Louisiana and across other key global markets.
