Decarbonisation Technology - May 2024 Issue

equipment. For example, clients have insisted on avoiding heating their furnaces with hydrogen because of the magnitude of changes needed and the possible impact on reliability and production. Due diligence during the early phase developments of carbon capture work is key. Ensuring our clients have a carbon capture project tailored to their specific decarbonisation needs is non-negotiable, as the risks associated with buying ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions could be detrimental to efficiently implementing the technology into their production. experience, Wood has worked on more than half of the carbon capture projects currently underway across the globe (Wood, 2024). Bringing together experience in advisory, technology evaluation, detailed engineering and construction, we enable clients to select an optimised high thermodynamically or techno- economically performing solution along with a project that is pragmatic and practical. Carbon capture in action With more than 30 years of supporting An example of this is how we are supporting Teck Resources Limited (Teck) in piloting a new carbon capture plant at the Teck smelter in Trail, British Columbia. Now in the detail design phase, this first-of-its-kind solution for capturing carbon from sulphide ores in the smelting process is paving the way for more sustainable operations in the steel and mining industries across the world. Teck’s smelter and refining complex in Trail is one of the world’s largest integrated zinc and lead operations, producing a variety of speciality metals, chemicals, and fertiliser products. The pilot will be installed to capture CO₂ from one part of the operation to assess the technical and economic viability of the selected technology in this environment. Getting to this stage in development requires a tremendous amount of front-end work from our team of experts at Wood. This includes completing carbon capture technology assessments and pre-scoping, feasibility studies for the installation and integration of the pilot plant at the Trail site and supporting Teck in the procurement of the pilot plant. However, this is not our only recent success

story in moving the needle for scaling up carbon capture deployment in industrial applications. Since 2022, Wood 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 in partnership with C-Capture, a developer of a novel solvent process for CO 2 removal. 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. Considering each new learning for every new project is vital for streamlining the approach taken towards carbon capture implementation for these sectors. “ With an increasing number of governments focused on funding and scaling CCS and CCU, more technology suppliers will be broadening their offerings to target hard-to-abate industries ” Conclusion With an increasing number of governments focused on funding and scaling CCS and CCU, more technology suppliers will be broadening their offerings to target hard-to-abate industries. While this is encouraging, there is not going to be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to CCS. Defining a decarbonisation strategy specific to clients and their assets will be crucial. Decarbonising heavy industries like chemicals, cement, and steel is imperative given the intensity of global demand and the emissions. It is very unlikely that we can achieve carbon neutrality without tackling these sectors. CCS presents our biggest hope. Reducing risks such as bottlenecks and delays associated with poor planning in the early phase developments could mean the difference between achieving net zero and not.

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Suzanne Ferguson