Decarbonisation Technology – August 2021

government to invest in carbon utilisation and create partnerships with industries that utilise carbon for their processes. When more industries use carbon, the demand and supply effect will help structure globally acceptable carbon pricing. Geo-industrial zones As of now, there are only 21 currently operating CCUS facilities in the world, according to the International Energy Agency. This number is far from what is needed to reduce CO 2 to achieve net-zero. According to the

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Figure 2 Pipelines of commercial CCS facilities from 2010 to 2020: CCS capacity Source: Global CCS Institute

to commercialise the carbon capture industry. Several schemes have been tested, but none have yielded the much-needed commercialisation of the carbon capture market to significantly kick off the global deployment of the technology and impact emissions reduction. Carbon pricing One of the setbacks of the current policy is the regulatory framework to determine carbon pricing. Carbon taxes do not necessarily guarantee a reduction in emissions, as emitters can factor extra expenses into the cost of their products, which the end consumer would ultimately pay. On the other hand, the cap and trade scheme is susceptible to market fluctuations, making it difficult for investors to build a business model. Creating stability of the carbon price would be best when it is not dependent on the negative societal cost per tonne but rather as a commodity for utilisation. Carbon utilisation will be a better driver to determine carbon pricing; therefore, governments should create incentives and policies to develop the industry and eliminate many uncertainties faced by carbon pricing. The industry would generate the constant demand necessary to keep carbon pricing afloat globally without excess regulations by individual nations. Another solution is for the

Global CCS Institute, the total capacity of carbon capture facilities globally is around 40 Mtpa, and it must increase more than a hundredfold to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Making carbon capture commercially viable is the game changer to spur hundreds of carbon capture projects worldwide. Governments can invest in carbon capture technology projects by creating a geo-industrial zone and strategically locating the site of the carbon capture facility to build infrastructure directly from the emission source to the site. This geo-industrial zone will consist of neighbouring regions with significant industrial or emission activities. Areas along the coastline would get emissions sequestered in offshore saline aquifers or depleted oil wells, while industries inland would be connected to an onshore carbon capture storage site. For example, in the US, Houston would serve as a better geo-industrial zone to store carbon emissions into the Gulf of Mexico due to its proximity and accessibility to an emissions source. On the other hand, Montana would be a desirable geo-industrial site for onshore carbon capture storage due to its subsurface storage capacity. Each carbon-emitting company should be mandated to connect to the main carrier for storage and utilisation.