The Babcock & Wilcox Company to Demonstrate Carbon Dioxide Capture Technology

Barberton, Ohio -- March 5, 2007 -- The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), in collaboration with American Air Liquide Inc., will begin testing a promising new technology to help coal-fired power plants capture emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas.

The evaluation will occur at B&W’s 30 MWth Clean Environment Development Facility (CEDF) in Alliance, Ohio. The CEDF, originally placed in service in 1994 by B&W, the U.S. Department of Energy and others, is a large-scale demonstration facility that has been used to develop emissions-control technology.

The CEDF will be used to validate a technology called “oxy-coal combustion” that utilizes pure oxygen for the combustion of coal in electricity generating plants. In this system, nitrogen that comes in with the air for the combustion process is eliminated. As a result, the exhaust gas is a relatively pure stream of CO2 that is ready for long-term storage operations.

“Finding ways to capture and store CO2 emissions from power plants is paramount if the United States is going to address greenhouse gas concerns and use our national energy resources,” Don Langley, B&W vice president and chief technology officer said. “We see this major technology demonstration project as another step in B&W’s plan to deliver CO2-capture technology to the electricity generating industry and make a significant impact on this global issue.”

B&W’s development efforts are being done well in advance of similar projects around the globe. “This is truly changing-the-world technology and we are pleased to be leading this research,” Langley added. Because the oxy-coal technology builds on pulverized coal combustion technology, it would be complementary to most of the world’s coal-fired power plants.

B&W will work with American Air Liquide to modify the existing CEDF facility for the oxy-coal process and will begin proving the technology in June 2007. American Air Liquide will provide engineering and chemistry know-how related to combustion, as well as proprietary equipment and sensors for the safe and efficient handling of liquefied oxygen.

In addition to American Air Liquide, several utilities will participate in an “advisory group” process that will help bring the potential users of the technology into the development process.

B&W will evaluate several types of coal, including coal imported from Saskatchewan, Canada, the site of a proposed near-zero emissions power plant that will use this technology at commercial scale.

Present in 72 countries, Air Liquide provides industrial and medical gases and related services and offers innovative solutions based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions, which are consistent with Air Liquide’s commitment to sustainable development, help to protect life and enable customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday products. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris stock exchange and is a component of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices (ISIN code FR 0000120073). American Air Liquide Inc. is Air Liquide’s U.S.-based research and development company. For more information, visit http://www.airliquide.com/.

The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc., a leading worldwide energy services company. McDermott subsidiaries manufacture steam-generating equipment, environmental equipment, and products for the U.S. government. They also provide engineering and construction services for the offshore oil and natural gas industry.

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