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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DIODE LASERS the CO2 emissions come from the chemical reaction itself. “Beyond commercial drivers, there can be regulatory driv-
About 60% of emissions there are not from combustion – they ers. For example, through the EU Net Zero Industry Act, cer- come from the chemical reaction. If we switch fuel, electrify, tain operators are obligated to contribute to developing a col- or use hydrogen, at best we'll tackle 40% of the emissions. If lective 50 million tonnes per annum of CO2 storage capacity,” we wish to decarbonize that industry, CCS is a much better Burrows says.
technology to use. We can capture 95% of the emissions.” On storage availability, his assessment is unequivocal.
Steel and certain chemical processes fall into a similar “Globally, we know that there is more than enough storage category. According to the report, manufacturing sectors are for our needs, both onshore and offshore,” he says. “When expected to account for 41% of annual CO2 captured by mid- it comes to identifying and developing a storage site, we go century, becoming the main growth driver from 2030 onward. through a very robust procedure. We select sites that are lowest
The power sector also retains a role for CCS, particularly in risk and where we can be confdent the CO2 will be contained.” systems with signifcant adoption of renewables. Burrows points out, however, that the bottleneck lies not in “If we look at very high penetrations of renewables, we geology.
know we will need dispatchable power alongside. It's not al- “So yes, there is enough storage. Where developed cor- ways sunny, it's not always windy. In jurisdictions like the UK, rectly, I'm confdent there will be no problems around con- renewables are intermittent,” Burrows says. “Gas-fred power tainment. The challenge is timing. It can take several years with CCS can provide the low-carbon dispatchable power that to develop a storage site, and we must ensure that capture, we know will be needed.” transport, and storage all become available at the same time.”
Technically, capture rates can exceed 95%, but cost consid- Public perception has infuenced geographic choices for erations remain decisive. “If we're looking at post-combustion storage, particularly in Europe, where early onshore storage capture – capturing CO2 from an existing emission source – we projects encountered opposition, resulting in most European can capture in excess of 95%. It becomes a question of econom- CO2 stores now being developed offshore. “Today, globally, ics. Chasing the fnal few percent is typically more expensive.” the majority of CO2 is being stored in onshore sites. In Europe and parts of Asia, offshore storage is prominent. We expect other regions to make greater use of offshore storage as the
Ofshore Storage, Infrastructure Reuse – and the Timing Constraint industry matures.”
Offshore oil and gas are increasingly intertwined with CCS Transport and infrastructure economics also play a critical deployment. Burrows points to felds with high CO2 content role.
that is currently vented, as well as integrated energy compa- “The economics of CCS are challenging. If it is possible to nies assessing capture and storage across their value chains. repurpose infrastructure like pipelines, that can improve proj- “A good example is Kasawari in Malaysia, where hydrocar- ect economics,” Burrows says. At the same time, he stresses bons containing high CO2 content are produced. Petronas has that reuse must follow strict qualifcation processes to ensure developed a CO2 store into which it will inject the separated design integrity and safety compliance.
CO2. We are also seeing integrated oil and gas companies ex- Transport modes are diversifying. amining CO2 capture opportunities elsewhere in their value While pipelines remain dominant, projects such as North- chains. This includes onshore opportunities such as natural ern Lights have introduced ship-based CO2 transport. Rail gas processing, refneries and blue hydrogen production. and truck solutions are also emerging for specifc use cases. “The industry also sees opportunity in transporting and Looking ahead, Burrows notes growing interest in foating storing CO2 for emitters – particularly around the North Sea. CO2 storage and injection concepts.
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