Innovations and Challenges in Carbon Capture as Climate Pressures Mount
As the world grapples with climate change, carbon capture technology gains momentum, driven by governmental incentives and growing environmental concerns.
Morgan Riley
- 2024-01-10
- Updated 04:09 PM ET
(NewsNibs) - The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies is advancing in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Focus is on two main strategies: capturing CO2 from industrial smokestacks and extracting it directly from the atmosphere. With pressure mounting from governments and climate activists, companies are exploring carbon capture as an alternative to renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and batteries, which face skepticism over their sole sufficiency in addressing emissions. The U.S. Government, through initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act, has underscored this approach by investing in carbon capture research and offering tax credits to projects aiming to harness these technologies.
Assessing Industry Impact and Mitigation Potential
Despite the optimism surrounding CCS, concerns arise regarding the fossil fuel industry's role in its development. Critics argue that the industry's involvement could potentially lead to the prolongation of oil and gas extraction. However, for certain industries like cement production and steelmaking, which contribute significantly to global emissions and have limited immediate alternatives for decarbonization, carbon capture presents a viable option. Reports from agencies such as BloombergNEF suggest that retrofitting steel plants with CCS technology could reduce up to 600 million tons of CO2 emissions annually by 2050.
Evolving Energy Landscape and Global Targets
Natural gas, currently the predominant source of electricity in the U.S. since 2016, saw an addition of nearly 5.7 gigawatts of new power plants in 2022 alone. However, studies predict that by 2035, a significant proportion of U.S. power plants may retire, and power generation featuring CCS could become economically unviable as renewable energy with storage becomes more cost-effective. Global CO2 removal capacity is still far from reaching the billions of tons per year required to meet the 1.5C global warming limit by mid-century, as per scientific consensus. Notably, 19% of direct air capture projects announced are aiming to produce sustainable aviation fuel, excluding enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a process to increase oil extraction by injecting CO2 into oil fields—an application that has been utilized since the 1970s and is earmarked for expansion by oil companies.
Creating Sustainable Futures and Guardrails
While companies such as Climeworks and Heirloom are committing to use captured CO2 exclusively for permanent underground storage, the industry is debating the implementation of guardrails and standards to ensure the responsible scaling up of carbon capture technologies. With government incentives and investments providing a push, the industry is at a crossroads, balancing economic viability and environmental responsibility in the quest to mitigate climate change effects.
