Because of higher specific energy demand for CO₂ separation, the CO₂ avoidance costs of Natural Gas Combined Cycle power plants generally exceed those of coal-fired stations. For the operator of a NGCC plant it is therefore vital to determine whether measures that reduce the CO₂ emissions in a specific plant are more cost effective than the expenditures from increased  CO₂ emissions, in the form of either CO₂ taxes or CO₂ emission certificates. Though in NGCC power plants the energy and financial penalties are in general higher than in coal-fired stations, the lower electricity generation costs of such plant, the fuel availability and possible future legal requirements, to which power stations must comply (e.g., CO₂ Capture-Ready Certification), mean that for the operator the identification of the potential for CO₂ emission reduction can be of particular interest.

To separate the CO₂ in NGCC power stations either Post-Combustion CO₂ separation or Oxyfuel combustion of the fuel in an atmosphere of oxygen and recirculated flue gas may be used. Aim of the joint research project is first to optimise both these processes under consideration of all relevant operating conditions and then to compare them from the technical and economic viewpoints.

The altered combustion conditions that result from, for instance, flue gas recirculation will be investigated both experimentally in a test rig of the project partner LSM and analytically through modelling. The results will be input in a model of the overall plant process at IET, to enable detailed analysis of the overall process. Various components of the processes will be modelled numerically with appropriate simulation tools, using realistic operating and boundary conditions. These modelling studies will be supplemented by cost analyses, aimed at determining besides the technical also the economic potential of these processes. Only such processes are to be studied, that look promising in the near and mid-term future for implementation at commercial scale.