New wave of CCS activity: Ten large-scale projects announced
October 28, 2019
Washington, DC – The Global CCS Institute, a think tank, announced that ten large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities were verified and added to its database. “There are now 51 CCS facilities globally – 19 in operation, four under construction, and 28 in various stages of development with an estimated combined capture capacity of 96 million tonnes of CO2 per annum”, said Brad Page, CEO, Global CCS Institute. “We are thrilled to see this new momentum of CCS project announcements globally. Eight of the ten facilities added are in the US, where policy confidence has resulted in increased project activity”, he adds.
The Global CCS Institute identifies and tracks large-scale CCS projects around the world.
The new US projects cover applications such as ammonia production, ethanol production, power, direct air capture, and integrated commercial storage hubs. CO2 storage hubs, which can store large amounts of CO2, remove barriers to CCS investment and help to bring down costs.
“These carbon capture and geologic storage projects across multiple industries and different regions of the country underscore how the revamped federal 45Q tax credit, coupled in some cases with DOE funding for engineering, is stimulating early project development and investment,” said Brad Crabtree, Vice President for Carbon Management at the Great Plains Institute and director of the Carbon Capture Coalition. “This is just the beginning—we will see even more projects emerge as soon as the U.S. Treasury comes out with its long-delayed guidance on the 45Q credit.”
The US-based projects are the result of a combination of sustained government support for CCS deployment and progressive incentive mechanisms triggering private sector action. These include the 45Q tax credit and the eligibility of CCS to receive credits under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The project update also comes on the heels of the US Department of Energy announcing $110 million in federal funding for CCS, including support for Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Studies for nine CCS projects.
“CCUS plays an important role in reducing emissions and in carbon dioxide removal in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s pathways that can limit warming to 1.5-2.0 degrees Celsius. I am encouraged that a diverse set of projects are moving forward across a variety of sectors and applications”, said Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute Climate Program.
Two of the projects added were announced by Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, which already operates the Century Plant CCS facility. They include capturing the CO2 from two ethanol facilities, as well as the largest direct air capture project to date, aimed at capturing 1 Mtpa of CO2. The projects are expected to be designed to be eligible for both 45Q and the LCFS. In addition to the projects it is leading, the company also announced a letter of intent for a CO2 offtake agreement with a carbon-negative fuel production facility recently.
“We’re excited to expand our existing carbon capture project plans,” said OLCV President Richard Jackson. “Development of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies is core to Oxy Low Carbon Ventures’ mission to advance a low carbon economy, and these new projects will open a pathway to producing fully carbon-neutral or even net-negative fuels.”
The global project pipeline also includes important technology developments including what could become the first large-scale direct air capture (DAC) project, as well as what could become the first large-scale CCS application on a natural gas power plant with the UK-based Clean Gas Project. In the Middle East, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is adding a second CCS plant to its portfolio. The company is also operating the first CCS project on a steel plant. CCS, which is seen as vital to achieving climate goals, enjoys broad and diverse support.
“It’s exciting to see the growing project pipeline for CCS projects both in the US and around the globe. Our hope is that these new projects will demonstrate the importance of investment in CCS and its vital role in creating jobs and sustaining communities”, said Cecile Conroy, Director Government Affairs Department, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.
This new wave of CCS projects update comes ahead of the release of the Global Status of CCS 2019 Report on December 9 at COP25. The report is the Global CCS Institute’s annual, flagship report and details progress, policies and projects on CCS globally.
###
Lee Beck (Washington DC): +1 202 677 9053 lee.beck@globalccsinstitute.com
Annya Schneider (Brussels): +32 255 03972 annya.schneider@globalccsinstitute.com
Lucy Temple-Smith (Melbourne): +61 466 982 068 lucy.temple-smith@globalccsinstitute.com
About the Global CCS Institute: The Global CCS Institute is an international think tank whose mission is to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a vital technology to tackle climate change and provide energy security. For more information, visit www.globalccsinstitute.com