As countries worldwide attempt to achieve net zero emissions, the adoption of carbon capture technology has become increasingly prevalent. But what exactly is carbon capture, and how effective is it in combating climate change?
The government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently released the UK’s energy plan, “Powering up Britain,” which outlines commitments to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as hydrogen, and new nuclear plants. However, the government says it acknowledges the crucial role that UK oil and gas plays in the future of the UK’s energy mix.
Addressing the conflict between the goal of achieving net zero emissions and the continued use of fossil fuels, the government has also proposed accelerating progress in carbon capture solutions. But what exactly is carbon capture, and how can it be utilised effectively?
What is carbon capture?
Carbon capture involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from industrial processes or power plants. The technology has two variations: carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS).
CCS captures CO2 and stores it in underground geological formations, while CCUS captures CO2 and finds a productive use for it, such as feedstock for the production of chemicals or fuels. One example of CCUS is the enhanced oil recovery process (EOR), which involves injecting the gas into declining oil wells to boost their productivity.
Why is carbon capture important for tackling climate change?
By capturing emissions, carbon capture technology reduces the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere, thereby mitigating global warming.
Carbon capture is particularly important in carbon-intensive industries such as power generation, cement production, and steel manufacturing, all of which are responsible for significant amounts of global carbon emissions.
Additionally, carbon capture technology can theoretically play a key role in easing the transition to a low-carbon economy by enabling the continued use of fossil fuels to meet energy demand as nations make the shift towards a fully renewable energy system.
Opinions on carbon capture
Use of carbon capture remains a topic of controversy, similar to that of topics such as nuclear power.
Leading international organisations, such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have underscored the need for rapid expansion of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in order to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
While energy efficiency and renewables remain the pillars of the low carbon transition, these organisations consider carbon capture one of many crucial technologies required to achieve deep emissions reductions in a practical and cost-effective way.
However, many feel that carbon capture represents a poor investment, facing several challenges, including high costs, the need for supportive policy frameworks, and potential risks associated with CO2 storage.
To demonstrate its cost, the levelised cost of producing cement with CCS technology can vary from $70 to $130 per tonne, representing an increase from $30 to $80 per tonne compared to unabated production.
| TIP: Levelised cost refers to the measure of the average cost of something over its lifetime, from installation, to use, to decommissioning. |
Its effectiveness has also been a discussion point. A report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found that together, 13 flagship carbon capture and storage projects only captured one-ten thousandth of the 36 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted in 2021 and while plants boast a capture rate of around 90%, to meet ambitious climate targets with the technology it requires a leap forward in efficiency.
The UK’s plan for carbon capture
By 2050, the UK has committed to the ambitious goal of net zero emissions. This includes running a net zero power system and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035.
Despite the significant contribution renewable energy sources and nuclear power will have towards this objective, the government admits the role that oil and gas will need to play in ensuring energy security in the face of the war in Ukraine and the transition to low carbon energy.
However, this presents a problem, as use of traditional fossil fuels produces high levels of emissions. The government has proposed to mitigate this impact through carbon capture.
In an announcement made during the release of the Spring Budget 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed that the UK government has pledged to invest £20 billion in scaling up CCS projects across the country (including CCUS). The funding will be spread out over a period of two decades and will help advance the development of carbon capture solutions.
What is the rest of the world doing?
Carbon capture technology is gaining popularity worldwide as countries endeavor to reduce emissions. The United States is a significant player, boasting two of the world’s most extensive carbon capture projects – the Shute Creek processing plant and the Century Plant. The recent Inflation Reduction Act also provides critical updates to the tax credit system, incentivising the use of carbon capture and storage technologies.
In the same vein, Norway has distinguished itself as a pioneer in carbon capture and storage technology, spearheaded by its flagship CCS project, the Sleipner Project, which has been in operation since 1996. In September 2020, the Norwegian government launched The Longship project, a mammoth undertaking worth 2.4 billion euros aimed at devising and implementing the necessary infrastructure to capture, transport, and store carbon dioxide on a massive scale.
Additionally, Norway is partnering with both Germany and France to promote collaboration in the development and deployment of CCS technologies as a way to help prevent global warming.
Furthermore, CCS is being actively pursued or implemented in other regions across the globe, including Japan, China, and various countries in the Middle East.
The future of carbon capture projects
Regardless of the contention, there are close to 35 commercial facilities utilising CCUS technology in industrial processes, fuel transformation, and power generation, with a combined annual capture capacity of nearly 45 million metric tons of CO2.
Momentum has been picking up in recent years, with roughly 300 projects in various stages of development.
Despite the ambitions of project developers to have more than 200 new capture facilities in operation by 2030, capturing over 220 million metric tons of CO2 annually, only about 10 commercial capture projects under development have made a final investment decision as of June 2022. Even with this progress, the deployment of CCUS technology would still fall significantly below what is needed to achieve the net zero scenario, according to the IEA.
In the UK, the government has announced a shortlist of projects for the initial phase of its carbon capture deployment. Other projects will have the opportunity to participate in a selection process, which is scheduled to launch later this year.
Additionally, the government plans to select two more CCUS clusters to augment the existing HyNet and East Coast clusters, which were designated as the UK’s first two CCUS projects in October 2021.
In conclusion
Carbon capture has emerged as an addition to the arsenal of climate change mitigation tools available to governments seeking to reduce carbon emissions in their economies. While its implementation faces challenges, primarily due to high costs, economies of scale have traditionally helped refine new technologies and improve their efficiency-to-cost ratios over time.
As we look ahead, carbon capture holds great promise for addressing the hard-to-abate sectors of the economy. However, just as with carbon offsets, caution should be applied in order to avoid it simply becoming an alternative to investing in advancing decarbonisation efforts.
