If the world is to meet the Paris Agreement and all energy-related sustainable development goals, roughly 2,000 carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities need to be operating by 2040, delivering 7% of cumulative emissions reductions.
That’s according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) who puts the price of a scenario without CCS at more than double the cost.
The CCS process involves three major steps: capturing CO2 at the source, compressing it for transportation and then injecting it deep into a rock formation at a carefully selected and safe site, where it is permanently stored.
But despite its global recognition as a vital technology in the climate change battle, market uptake for CCS has been slow: there are only 51 large-scale CCS facilities globally – 19 in operation, four under construction and 28 in various stages of development.
“CCS technology comes with a price tag and some solvents currently on the market are not particularly environmentally friendly,” explained Tom White, CEO of CO2 removal specialist C-Capture.
This is where C-Capture fits into the CCS picture: the UK company has developed a unique, solvent-based technology which can be deployed on most industrial processes requiring CO2 separation from other gases, including power stations, industrial plants, hydrogen production facilities and bio or natural gas upgrading plants.
The technology uses a new class of capture solvents that are not classified as hazardous, are inexpensive and can be manufactured on a large scale from biological sources.
“C-Capture’s technology offers many advantages, including reduced emissions, low environmental impact, low corrosivity, but ultimately it offers significant savings in both capital and operational expenditure. This should reduce the barriers to deployment,” White told gasworld.
“Supporting infrastructure for CO2 transport and storage is not yet in place, though a lot of hard work is going on to develop projects, business models and roadmaps around the model of industrial clusters in the UK, where shared T&S infrastructure will be implemented.
“The recent UK Government commitment of £800m to get at least two industrial clusters operational by 2040 demonstrates the commitment and enthusiasm behind decarbonisation of our industrial areas.
“Clearly a CO2 utilisation technology at a matching scale that results in a solid product would be a game changer.”
In an exclusive interview, Tom White talks in detail to gasworld about C-Capture’s gamechanging technology, the company’s involvement in Europe’s first bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) pilot and what support is needed to accelerate commercial deployment of CCS.
Read the full interview here:
https://www.gasworld.com/gamechanging-ccs-technology-in-the-climate-change-battle/2019170.article