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WHY CARBON RECYCLING IS WORTH PURSUING — EVEN WHEN IT REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY

WHY CARBON RECYCLING IS WORTH PURSUING — EVEN WHEN IT REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL RENEWABLE ENERGY The global decarbonisation debate remains fragmented. We discuss carbon capture, carbon removal, green hydrogen, renewable electricity and nuclear energy as separate solutions. But perhaps we are overlooking a more fundamental engineering question: Why do we continue to treat carbon as a disposable fuel? For more than a century, our energy system has followed a linear pathway: Fossil carbon → Combustion → Energy → CO₂ emissions. At Clean Energy and Water Technologies (CEWT), we are investigating a different approach through Carbon Recycling Technology (CRT). The concept is straightforward. Capture the CO₂ generated by a power plant, combine it with renewable hydrogen, regenerate methane and return that methane to the same power-generation system. The carbon circulates. Renewable energy replenishes the chemical energy of the fuel. We recognise that this requires substantial external renewable electricity. Indeed, converting CO₂ back into methane is energy-intensive, and every conversion introduces losses. But the objective is not to create energy from nothing. The objective is to stop continuously introducing new fossil carbon into the energy system. Consider the wider implications. If an integrated carbon-recycling system can be demonstrated successfully at one baseload power facility, the same engineering principle could potentially be replicated across other suitable power plants and industrial installations. Instead of repeatedly extracting, burning and discarding carbon, we could progressively establish industrial systems in which carbon remains in productive circulation. This would not happen overnight. Nor would carbon recycling alone reverse historical atmospheric CO₂ accumulation. That requires additional carbon removal and durable storage. But it could help us address a fundamental problem: We cannot stabilise atmospheric CO₂ concentrations while continuing to release additional fossil carbon indefinitely. The engineering challenge is therefore to minimise carbon losses, eliminate unnecessary fossil-carbon inputs and integrate renewable energy, hydrogen, carbon capture and fuel regeneration into a single system. We should evaluate such systems not only by electrical efficiency, but also by their carbon-retention efficiency, life-cycle emissions and economic performance. Our proposed CRT trigeneration demonstration for data centres is intended to investigate this integrated approach. The broader vision is simple: One power plant closes its carbon loop. Then another. And another. Over time, the cumulative reduction in new fossil-carbon emissions could become significant. The energy transition should not be limited to finding cleaner ways of generating electricity. It should also challenge the assumption that carbon must be discarded every time we use it to generate energy. Carbon is an element. Energy is what we consume. Why not keep the carbon circulating? #CarbonRecycling #CRT #IndustrialDecarbonisation #NetZero #CarbonCapture #GreenHydrogen #BaseloadPower #EnergyTransition #CircularCarbonEconomy

CARBON IS NOT THE ENEMY

CARBON IS NOT THE ENEMY From a linear carbon economy to an integrated water–energy–carbon recycling economy A CEWT position statement for governments, policymakers, financial institutions, industry and the scientific community Clean Energy and Water Technologies Pty Ltd (CEWT) | October 2026 The fundamental industrial mistake Carbon is indispensable to life, chemistry and modern industry. Carbon oxidation is also a useful chemical reaction: it supplies heat and supports essential industrial processes. The environmental problem is not the carbon atom or the act of oxidation itself. It is the continued extraction of geological carbon and the release of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere without effective recovery. For generations, much of industry has followed a linear pathway: geological carbon → industrial use → CO₂ → atmosphere. This treats a valuable chemical element as a disposable resource. The result is cumulative atmospheric CO₂, alongside continued dependence on fossil resources. Why fragmented decarbonisation is not enough Having emitted CO₂ for decades, society is investing heavily in solar photovoltaics, wind power, electrification, renewable hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and other climate solutions. These technologies can deliver substantial benefits. Renewable electricity can displace fossil generation, and permanent geological CO₂ storage can avoid atmospheric release. Yet deploying these technologies in isolation does not automatically redesign the industrial carbon cycle. The question for policymakers and investors is not simply how much low-carbon electricity can be installed, but whether the whole industrial system is reducing new geological carbon inputs and lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture without a viable use or durable storage pathway, hydrogen without appropriate integration, and electrification without attention to material supply chains can leave significant industrial emissions unresolved. Fossil-fuel dependence can also contribute to geopolitical vulnerability and competition over resources. Climate change is increasing risks from heat, extreme rainfall and other hazards. These outcomes have multiple causes; nevertheless, continued greenhouse gas emissions remain a central driver of climate risk. Electrification must include embodied emissions Zero emissions at the point of electricity generation do not mean zero lifecycle emissions. Solar PV requires silicon, glass and aluminium; wind power requires steel, concrete and copper; batteries and electrolysers require mined and processed materials. Manufacturing, transport, construction and replacement all have carbon footprints. This does not invalidate renewable energy. It reinforces the need to decarbonise the industries that manufacture renewable-energy infrastructure. Success should be measured through transparent lifecycle assessment, including embodied emissions, rather than operational emissions alone. CEWT’s alternative: keep carbon in productive circulation CEWT is developing Carbon Recycling Technology (CRT) around a different industrial principle: capture carbon dioxide from industrial operations, use low-emissions hydrogen to convert it into methane, and reuse that methane as an energy carrier or process feedstock. In simplified form: CO₂ + 4H₂ → CH₄ + 2H₂O. Subsequent methane use produces CO₂ that can be captured again. The intended pathway is CO₂ → CH₄ → industrial use → CO₂ → CH₄. Renewable energy supplies the external energy needed to regenerate the fuel; carbon functions as a circulating material rather than a once-through geological resource. This is not a source of free energy. Its climate value depends on high CO₂ capture, low methane leakage, low-emissions hydrogen, and favourable full-system efficiency and lifecycle emissions. Where direct electrification is more efficient and practical, it should be used. CRT is directed particularly at applications where carbon-containing fuels, reducing gases, continuous thermal supply or integrated process chemistry may remain valuable. An integrated CEWT technology platform CRT for power and industrial heat: CEWT proposes recycling captured CO₂ into methane for firm power, process heat and trigeneration, with recovery of useful thermal energy where practicable. Green iron: hydrogen-rich reducing gases, CO₂ recovery and carbon recycling are being investigated to reduce the lifecycle emissions of ironmaking while maintaining reliable industrial operation. Silicon production: CEWT is investigating methane-assisted/plasma-linked silica reduction with internal carbon recycling. The theoretical integrated net chemistry can be expressed as 2SiO₂ + 4H₂ → 2Si + 4H₂O. Carbon-containing intermediates may participate even if net carbon consumption cancels in the ideal stoichiometry. Experimental proof, actual yields, materials consumption and energy balances remain essential. CAPZ desalination and DAC: CEWT proposes using sodium-rich ED concentrate, separated from calcium, magnesium and sulfate through its NF/ED approach, as a starting medium for alkaline atmospheric CO₂ absorption. Part of the concentrate would feed caustic production through chlor-alkali electrolysis, with hydrogen and chlorine coproducts. The alkaline absorber would form carbonate/bicarbonate; BPMED-assisted pH adjustment and stripping would recover CO₂ and regenerate the working solution. The integrated DAC process remains subject to mass, ionic charge, water and energy balance validation. Together, these developments aim to connect water treatment, industrial chemicals, carbon capture, fuel regeneration and materials production instead of treating them as unrelated projects. What must be independently demonstrated CEWT welcomes independent engineering and scientific scrutiny. The proposed systems must be evaluated on a consistent basis: measured mass and energy balances; carbon capture and recycle rates; methane and process losses; electricity and hydrogen intensity; water use; equipment performance; costs; and cradle-to-grave lifecycle emissions. Carbon utilisation is not equivalent to permanent carbon removal: methane made from captured atmospheric CO₂ will release that carbon again if combusted and not recaptured. A credible assessment must separately report avoided geological carbon use, avoided emissions, temporary carbon circulation and any genuinely durable removal. Independent comparison should also include alternative pathways such as direct electrification, renewable generation, conventional CCUS and other industrial technologies. CEWT’s potential global contribution will depend on demonstrated performance, economic competitiveness and eventual deployment scale—not on aspiration alone. A call to governments, financiers and industry CEWT calls on governments, regulators, public agencies, financial institutions, manufacturers and research organisations to evaluate integrated carbon-recycling systems alongside established decarbonisation pathways. Funding and policy should reward verified system-wide emissions reductions, efficient resource use and replicable industrial outcomes—not only the installation of individual technologies. We have spent decades developing technologies to manage the consequences of carbon emissions. It is time to redesign the industrial processes that created those emissions in the first place. Carbon is not the enemy. The linear carbon economy is. Capture the carbon. Recycle the carbon. Reuse the carbon—and progressively end the need to extract new geological carbon for industrial use.

CEWT 20 MW CRT Trigeneration

CEWT 20 MW CRT Trigeneration Latrobe Valley AI Data Centre — Resilience & Storage Summary Preliminary engineering/investor note • 7 October 2026 1. Executive summary CEWT’s proposed Latrobe Valley configuration combines renewable electricity, a modest short-duration BESS/UPS layer and Carbon Recycling Technology (CRT) using recycled methane (RSNG) as the long-duration firming medium. The central proposition is: renewables supply the primary energy; batteries provide speed; CRT provides endurance. For a constant 20 MW AI data-centre load, three days of autonomous generation corresponds to 1,440 MWh of electricity. On the frozen 45.2% gas-engine electrical-efficiency basis, this requires approximately 229.4 t of methane. Using a preliminary liquid-methane density basis and 20% storage allowance, the corresponding gross RSNG/LNG storage envelope is about 650 m³. 2. Proposed three-layer resilience architecture Layer 1 — UPS/BESS: millisecond-to-minute continuity for GPU transients, switching, and ride-through. Layer 2 — Short-duration BESS: renewable smoothing and engine-transition support; a preliminary 2–4 hour range (about 40–80 MWh at 20 MW) should be evaluated. Layer 3 — CRT/RSNG: hours-to-days firming, with recycled methane acting as the strategic energy reserve. Normal operation should preferentially route renewable electricity directly to the data centre. PEM electrolysis and methanation should use allocated/surplus renewable energy to replenish the RSNG inventory. CRT generation is then dispatched during prolonged renewable shortfalls. 3. BESS versus RSNG — physical storage comparison Firming duration Electricity delivered Indicative BESS installed* CH₄ required Gross RSNG/LNG storage** 24 h 480 MWh 613 MWh 76.5 t ~216 m³ 48 h 960 MWh 1,227 MWh 152.9 t ~432 m³ 72 h 1,440 MWh 1,840 MWh 229.4 t ~648 m³ * Screening basis used in the working comparison: 90% BESS round-trip efficiency plus 15% energy reserve. ** Preliminary liquid-methane basis with 20% storage allowance; final tank sizing must include usable capacity, heel, boil-off, composition, and code requirements. 4. 72-hour CRT reserve calculation Continuous electrical load 20 MW Electrical energy for 72 h 1,440 MWh Frozen engine electrical efficiency 45.2% Required methane thermal input ≈3,186 MWhₜₕ Methane inventory ≈229.4 t CH₄ Simple Sabatier H₂ required to regenerate that inventory ≈114.7 t H₂ PEM electricity at 53 kWh/kg H₂ ≈6.08 GWh The 6.08 GWh figure is a reserve-regeneration calculation, not a claim of battery-like round-trip efficiency. The simple electricity→H₂→CH₄→engine pathway is inherently less efficient than a lithium-ion battery, which is why renewable electricity should feed the data centre directly whenever available and CRT should be used for long-duration firming rather than daily cycling. 5. PEM capacity sensitivity PEM capacity H₂ production @ 53 kWh/kg 72-h reserve recharge time Approx. days 20 MW 377 kg/h 304 h 12.7 40 MW 755 kg/h 152 h 6.3 60 MW 1,132 kg/h 101 h 4.2 80 MW 1,509 kg/h 76 h 3.2 84.4 MW 1,593 kg/h 72 h 3.0 Recommendation: retain the 20 MW PEM as the present demonstration basis rather than oversizing the electrolyser solely to refill an emergency reserve rapidly. At 20 MW, a completely depleted 72-hour reserve requires about 12.7 equivalent full-load days to regenerate. If reserve depletion is infrequent, gradual replenishment can be commercially preferable to installing 80+ MW of PEM capacity for a 20 MW data-centre demonstration. 6. Market comparison and positioning The emerging 20–30 MW AI data-centre segment provides a useful comparator for CEWT. Renewable+BESS projects demonstrate that developers are considering modular initial phases rather than only very large hyperscale campuses. CEWT’s differentiation is not that CRT should replace batteries: the design deliberately retains BESS for fast response while using chemical energy storage for prolonged firming. Investor positioning: do not compare CRT with a four-hour battery on $/kWh alone. Compare complete 24/7 resilience architectures. As firming duration extends from hours toward days, the physical storage requirement for a battery-only solution becomes very large, while the RSNG inventory remains compact. 7. Design basis to retain • AI data-centre load: constant 20 MW. • Generation: six gas engines, 20 MW net aggregate, modelled at 45.2% electrical efficiency. • PEM: retain 20 MW for the current demonstration basis; larger modules remain a sensitivity case. • Strategic RSNG reserve: approximately 229 t usable CH₄ for 72-hour autonomy; preliminary gross storage envelope ~650 m³. • BESS: size for UPS/transients and short-duration smoothing, not multi-day energy storage. • Cooling: retain liquid-cooling integration and evaluate dry/low-water heat rejection alongside useful recovery of engine and methanation heat. • Start-up: external RLNG can establish the initial carbon/methane inventory; CRT subsequently recycles captured carbon. 8. Important boundary conditions The 229.4 t CH₄ / 114.7 t H₂ calculation uses the simple CO₂ + 4H₂ → CH₄ + 2H₂O relationship to size the strategic reserve. It is not the final integrated CRT process mass balance. The detailed 20 MW Trigen model must continue to use the agreed CRT stoichiometry and H₂-rich syngas design basis. The 20 MW Latrobe Valley Trigen project must remain separate from the CEWT Green Iron / Western Australia case, including the much larger ~1.15 GW electrolyser requirement derived for that project. Values must not be transferred between the two designs. 9. Working investment proposition “Renewables supply the energy. Batteries provide speed. CRT provides endurance. Recycled methane provides the strategic energy reserve.” Next engineering step: close the full 20 MW CRT mass and energy balance, confirm CO₂ capture and methanation duties, select the short-duration BESS/UPS rating, and obtain vendor-based CAPEX/OPEX so the hybrid architecture can be compared with renewable+BESS-only alternatives on an equivalent availability basis.

THE DEFOSSILISED DATA CENTRE

THE DEFOSSILISED DATA CENTRE A New Architecture for the AI Era 20 MW CRT TRIGENERATION | FIRM POWER | INTEGRATED COOLING | CARBON RECYCLING | WATER STEWARDSHIP Designed for the future. Powered by circulation, not continuous fossil-carbon consumption. RENEWABLE ENERGY → H₂ RECYCLED CH₄ → 20 MW FIRM POWER CO₂ CAPTURE → CARBON RECYCLING POWER. COOL. CAPTURE. RECYCLE. REPEAT. CEWT is developing an integrated 20 MW net CRT Trigeneration platform for high-density AI and data-centre infrastructure. The architecture treats firm power, thermal energy, cooling, carbon and water as connected resources - not separate problems.   Carbon Recycling Becomes an Energy Asset DON'T JUST CAPTURE CARBON. RECYCLE IT. Conventional trigeneration can recover useful heat from onsite power generation. CRT goes further. Captured CO₂ is combined with renewable hydrogen to regenerate methane. The methanation reaction is exothermic, creating an additional thermal stream that can be recovered and integrated with cooling. 20 MW net continuous firm-power target ~19.4 MWth* prime-mover recoverable thermal resource ~8.9 MWth theoretical gross methanation heat ~28 MWth* combined gross thermal opportunity ~46% ADDITIONAL GROSS THERMAL RESOURCE FROM CARBON RECYCLING relative to the present prime-mover heat screening basis* Why waste heat when AI needs cooling? The additional heat created while closing the carbon loop can become a cooling asset rather than a rejected waste stream. At a screening absorption-chiller COP of 0.70, the theoretical 8.9 MWth methanation stream represents up to about 6.2 MW of incremental cooling potential before practical heat-recovery, temperature-grade and equipment losses are applied. DEFOSSILISATION IS NOT ONLY A CARBON BENEFIT. IN CRT, CLOSING THE CARBON LOOP CREATES AN ADDITIONAL ENERGY-INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITY. *Screening/design-basis figures. Final recoverable heat, temperature grade, cooling output and equipment performance remain subject to vendor validation and detailed integration engineering.   Cooling and Water Designed Together DON'T USE VALUABLE WATER UNNECESSARILY TO REJECT VALUABLE HEAT. High-density AI infrastructure is increasingly a power-and-cooling problem. CRT is designed to use recovered process heat productively and to minimise consumptive water demand through an integrated cooling and heat-rejection strategy. THERMAL RECOVERY Prime-mover heat plus additional carbon-recycling heat creates a larger thermal resource for useful cooling. INTEGRATED COOLING Recovered heat can support absorption chilling alongside the data centre's primary high-density cooling architecture. DRY HEAT REJECTION Dry cooling is targeted where technically appropriate to reduce dependence on evaporative water consumption. WATER CIRCULATION Methanation produces reaction water that can be recovered, treated and considered for reuse within the overall site water balance. ~7.0 t/h theoretical methanation reaction water DRY heat-rejection design objective PUE + WUE energy and water performance considered together Resource accountability ENERGY → CARBON → HEAT → COOLING → WATER Every MW has a destination. Every carbon molecule has a destination. Every unit of recoverable heat has a purpose. Every litre of water has a pathway.   From Fossil Carbon Consumption to Carbon Circulation CONVENTIONAL FIRM GAS POWER CEWT CRT TRIGENERATION Fossil methane ↓ Firm power ↓ CO₂ emission or separate capture ↓ Continuous fossil-carbon replenishment Recycled methane ↓ 20 MW firm power + recoverable heat ↓ CO₂ capture ↓ Renewable H₂ + methanation ↓ Recycled methane + additional thermal resource THE OBJECTIVE IS NOT TO ELIMINATE THE CARBON MOLECULE. IT IS TO ELIMINATE THE CONTINUOUS CONSUMPTION OF FOSSIL CARBON. A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND APPROACH TO DEFOSSILISED DATA-CENTRE INFRASTRUCTURE CEWT CRT integrates firm onsite power, carbon recycling, thermal-energy recovery, cooling and water stewardship within a single architecture. The 20 MW platform is being developed for the next generation of AI infrastructure, where time-to-power, cooling capacity, carbon management and water availability must be addressed together. DATA CENTRES NEED MORE THAN POWER. THEY NEED AN ENERGY ARCHITECTURE DESIGNED FOR THE FUTURE. Clean Energy and Water Technologies Pty Ltd (CEWT) 20 MW CRT Trigeneration for AI Data Centres