Carbon Capture and Storage Experiencing Record Growth as Countries Strive to Meet Global Climate Goals

New analysis from the Global CCS Institute finds that there are over 160 commercial CCS projects in development worldwide as the response to climate change advances from ambition to action.

MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) continues to grow worldwide, according to a new report released by climate think tank the Global CCS Institute. The Global Status of CCS 2022 report reveals a record high of 196 commercial CCS facilities in the project pipeline, including 30 projects in operation, 11 under construction, and 153 in development. With 61 new facilities added to the project pipeline in 2022, the CO₂ capture capacity of all CCS facilities under development has grown to 244 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) – an impressive growth of 44 percent over the past 12 months.

The Global CCS Institute's CEO, Jarad Daniels, said the rate of growth for CCS can be expected to increase further as countries and companies work to achieve their climate commitments on a shrinking carbon budget.

"The latest, most credible scientific analysis from organizations including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), highlights that reaching our climate goals is practically impossible without CCS," said Mr. Daniels.

"CCS is the Swiss Army knife of climate mitigation - it will continue to play multiple, unique roles in decarbonising the global economy. Many essential industries like cement and chemical production have no other viable path for deep decarbonisation other than CCS."

Not only is CCS vital for reducing CO₂ emissions, investment in CCS also offers significant economic and social benefits. For example, CCS can help facilitate a just transition in communities who are reliant on carbon intensive industries; protecting local jobs from economic dislocation by helping transform emission-intense industries to near-zero industries.

As CCS continues to scale-up we are also seeing savings in cost and efficiency of deployment. "Thanks in part to strengthening government policies around the world, CCS is increasingly commercially competitive across the full value chain, from capture technologies through to storage," explained Mr. Daniels. "We anticipate even more strategic partnerships and collaboration driving deployment, particularly through CCS networks."

The Global Status of CCS 2022 shows:

• In 2022, there are 30 commercially operating CCS facilities, 11 facilities in construction and 153 in various stages of development
• The capture capacity of CCS projects in the project pipeline is 244 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) – an increase from 169 Mtpa in 2021.
• The United States has introduced significant policies and laws, most notably the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which provides enhancements to the 45Q tax credit for CCS. Early analysis suggested the IRA could increase the deployment of CCS by 13-fold, or well over 110 Mtpa, by 2030 compared to existing policy.
• Canada continues to pursue CCS as part of broader decarbonisation, with the 2022 Federal Budget including a CCUS Tax Credit and a CCUS strategy currently under development.
• In Europe, the Danish Government has committed €5 billion for CCS over 10 years, the Dutch Government has more than doubled the SDE++ program since its launch, to €13 billion. Several new countries in Europe, including Poland, Bulgaria, and Finland, are entering the CCS market for the first time due to the EU Innovation Fund's granting program.
• In the Asia Pacific region, Thailand announced its first CCS project, China's first million tonne project commenced operations, and Australia saw new project announcements in Victoria and Western Australia, and notable progress in the Northern Territory.
• Across the MENA region, CCS continues to be driven by NDCs and net-zero commitments, the potential to take a significant share of the low-carbon hydrogen market, and various low carbon industrialization plans.

Although the outlook for climate action has never been more positive, global efforts to reduce emissions, including investment in CCS, are still grossly inadequate. "Government policy must be met with private capital to unlock the full potential of CCS and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. Though CCS deployment is scaling rapidly, we need to see an increase by at least a factor of 100 if we are to achieve the Paris climate goals, which makes this decade an absolutely critical time to move from ambition to action."

SOURCE Global CCS Institute