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Could carbon capture be the key to decarbonising heavy industry?

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Suzanne Ferguson
Carbon Capture Technical Lead / Principal Consultant

Heavy industries, such as cement, steel, and chemicals account for 30% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Given the industrial world is still largely fuelled by hydrocarbons, creating practical solutions for hard to abate sectors will be critical to achieving a low carbon future. It is often the case that companies operating within these industries are unclear on how to identify sustainable decarbonisation strategies. While it may be tempting to write these hard-to-abate industries off as not feasible to decarbonise, our carbon goals will not be met without them.

It’s with this reasoning that companies across the globe are being encouraged to deploy and integrate carbon capture technology into their operations. Despite being around for decades, the technology is widely misunderstood, proving detrimental to its potential. Understanding how to navigate this evolving technology, where hundreds of potential processes are developing, can often be overwhelming, resulting in some carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture utilisation (CCU) projects succumbing to pitfalls and bottlenecks.

In 2023, 395 CCS projects globally were in the pipeline for development. Today, only 43 of these are operational. With many carbon capture initiatives still in the front-end engineering and design (FEED) and pre-FEED phases, early engagement with experts in this field is essential if we are to bring assurances and pace to these projects.

What makes an industry ‘hard to abate’?

Heavy industries make products that are essential to our modern way of life. From cars to hospital equipment, to almost everything in our homes, our world is dependent on them. While there are some sustainable or responsibly sourced options available, they are not yet produced at scale. Therefore, despite their emissions and energy intensity, products produced by heavy industries are here to stay (for now).

Implementing decarbonisation projects in any sector requires significant financial investment, though this can be particularly challenging when the industry is harder to decarbonise. Heavy industrial companies tend to have long-life capital assets, typically around 40 years, and retiring these early to switch to alternative technologies will come at a cost that must be returned.  The Brookings Institution has estimated that the total cost to decarbonise heavy industry will range between $11 trillion-$21 trillion (USD) through 2050, depending on the development of innovation, policy framework and the cost of renewable electricity.

Beyond the price tag, challenges can often arise from the existing sites’ logistics. Difficult ground conditions, building upon former landfills, or plants where underground records are incomplete or inaccurate and where space is highly contained can pose serious challenges to the successful deployment of decarbonisation technologies. To overcome these risks, meticulous assessment and planning must be undertaken throughout the early stages of development to ensure developers do not fall victim to pitfalls.

How can we understand carbon capture's potential?

Carbon capture is an important technological option for reducing CO2 emissions and has been coined by many as essential in achieving a low-carbon future. Governments across the globe have included it in their decarbonisation goals, with the UK aiming to capture and store between 20-30 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2030.

It can be challenging to determine which technology type is best suited to any given industry and specific site, often requiring feasibility studies to be undertaken comparing several options on a like-for-like basis. Engaging with an expert that has the deep domain and implementation expertise is essential. Companies will benefit from understanding their emissions data and implementing a decarbonisation roadmap that aligns to their specific goals.

With more than 30 years of supporting experience, 糖心Vlog has worked on more than half of the carbon capture projects currently underway across the globe. Bringing together experience in advisory, technology evaluation, detailed engineering and project management, we enable clients to select an optimised, highly thermodynamically or techno-economically performing solution along with a project that is robust and practical.

What is 糖心Vlog doing to promote CCS?

Since 2022, 糖心Vlog has worked alongside C-Capture to support XLR8CCS – a pioneering carbon capture project focused on accelerating a low-cost carbon capture solution for hard-to-abate industries. The initiative aims to establish decarbonisation solutions on an industrial scale.

Developing this pilot project requires a tremendous amount of front-end work from our team of experts at 糖心Vlog, including completing carbon capture technology assessments and pre-scoping, feasibility studies for the installation and integration of the pilot technology at each partner site.

Our experience thus far has given us insight into the pressure points businesses across heavy industry are most concerned about when it comes to decarbonising. Taking each new learning into consideration for each new project is vital for streamlining the approach taken towards carbon capture implementation for these sectors.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to CCS.  Defining a decarbonisation strategy that is specific to clients and their assets will therefore be crucial in ensuring its success.

Decarbonising heavy industries like chemicals, cement and steel is imperative given the intensity of global demand and the emissions. We cannot achieve the world’s carbon reduction goals without tackling these sectors. CCS therefore presents our biggest practical hope. Reducing risks such as bottlenecks and delays associated with poor assessment and planning in the early phase developments could mean the difference between achieving net zero and not.

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