The debate around the effectiveness of carbon capture (you can register now for our CCUS session on Wednesday at 10.45 – Editor) has led to polarising views. Although the first implementations began 50 years ago, serious efforts to capture large volumes cost-effectively are in their infancy and unproven at scale. Is it, given time and support, a solution to excess emissions worldwide? Or is it a distraction that will allow fossils to be used yet will never succeed in removing the emissions it promises to do? Bruce Robertson at IEEFA summarises his co-authored report that concludes it is the latter. 13 flagship projects have been reviewed in detail, comprising 55% of the total nominal capture capacity worldwide. The studied cases have been responsible for capturing over two-thirds of all successfully captured anthropogenic CO2. The main warnings are: Failed and underperforming projects considerably outnumbered the successes; Scope 3 emissions are still not being accounted for; Captured carbon has mostly been used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) i.e. extracting more fossil fuels. At best, some applications of CCS in hard to abate industries (such as cement) could be studied as an interim partial solution with careful consideration, says Robertson.
***On Wednesday, Benoit de Guillebon, the Project lead of the PYCASSO CCUS installation serving South West France and Northern Spain’s industries, will present, first hand, details of this ground-breaking initiative during session 3 of our “The Future of Gas” online conference. Alongside him are Lauri Myllyvirta of CREA, Simon Göß of Carboneer and Kevin Tu, Agora Energiewende. The session is moderated by former Total director, François Issard. You can register here.***
[Click on image to register. Registration for either day will give you access to both days]
Carbon capture’s role has been rejigged as a climate solution in recent years with its diverse applications being proposed to decarbonise fossil fuel plants and hard-to-abate sectors.
Some widely cited authorities are fuelling the debate on the role of this technology as a climate solution, including the International Energy Agency in both its Energy Technologies Perspectives report and Net Zero by 2050 report.
Polarising views
This push has given a platform to polarising views on carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and carbon capture and storage (CCS): is it a greenwash to extend the life of fossil fuel assets or a panacea to avert catastrophic climate change consequences?
This report aims to shed light on the different applications and conceptualisations of CCUS/CCS, demystifying the technology’s applications, concepts and categorisations. It explains the dichotomy between enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture within dedicated geological structures, and the difference between carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), CCUS and CCS. It uses a four-tiered structure to provide an overview of all carbon capture applications, which includes gas processing, power generation, industry application/production, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
13 flagship cases reviewed in detail
Finally, 13 flagship cases (10 in operation, two that have failed and one that has been suspended) comprising about 55% of the total nominal capture capacity operating worldwide have been reviewed in detail. The projects are flagship in different senses, with each of them having unique aspects of importance.
Our sample is comprehensive, enough to learn lessons about the whole sector. IEEFA estimates that the studied cases have captured more than two-thirds of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide captured in history.
SOURCE: “The Carbon Capture Crux – Lessons Learned” / IEEFA
What we found
Further extrapolated in our conclusion at the end of the report, we found:
- Failed/underperforming projects considerably outnumbered successful experiences.
- Successful CCUS exceptions mainly existed in the natural gas processing sector serving the fossil fuel industry, leading to further emissions.
- The elephant in the room of the application of CCS/CCUS in the natural gas processing sector: Scope 3 emissions are still not being accounted for.
- Captured carbon has mostly been used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR): enhancing oil production is not a climate solution.
- Using carbon capture as a greenlight to extend the life of fossil fuels power plants is a significant financial and technical risk: history confirms this.
- Some applications of CCS in industries where emissions are hard to abate (such as cement) could be studied as an interim partial solution with careful consideration.
Read the report: The Carbon Capture Crux – Lessons Learned
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Bruce Robertson is an LNG/Gas Analyst at IEEFA
This article is published with permission
