CO2 capture and storage (CCS)
The world is demanding much more energy for development (which currently means more fossil fuels) and a solution to climate change. It cannot have both unless safe and cost effective ways are found to capture and store CO2 from coal, oil and natural gas.
Options for CO2 capture and storage
There are many technical options for capturing CO2. Once it is captured, CO2 can then be stored away for thousands of years underground (in aquifers or in some oil and gas fields). It can also be used in industrial processes.
However, capturing and storing CO2 is energy intensive and expensive. At a medium sized coal-fired power plant, for example, capture and storage would lower the plant’s overall energy efficiency by about 10% and add several hundred million dollars to investment costs. Storage will also require acceptance by planning authorities and by local communities.
More background on CO2 capture and storage.
What Shell is doing
We are involved in large-scale demonstration projects in this area. One of these is ZeroGen, a low CO2 coal-fired power project being considered in Australia. The Australian project would have CO2 emissions up to 70% lower than for comparable coal-fired plants, and nearly 40% lower than those from a comparable sized gas-fired power plant.
Another project, in Norway, is the largest offshore effort to date to store CO2 and use it to enhance oil recovery. If it goes ahead, it could reduce CO2 emissions in mid-Norway by 2.5 million tonnes a year.
We are supplying waste CO2 from our Pernis refinery to greenhouses in The Netherlands and exploring CO2 management opportunities in the Middle East with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
We are also working with national geological services, research institutions and other energy companies to develop the science and methodology needed ensure the CO2 stays underground safely, to measure the amount stored, and monitor and manage any environmental impacts. Examples include (all links open in a new window):
- In the Unites States, the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership and the CO2 Capture Project
- The Australian based CO2CRC programme
- The CO2SINK pilot project in Germany.
The role of governments
Government policy will play a decisive role in determining the future of CO2 capture and storage. The significant additional investment involved means CCS will not be rolled out on a large scale without government action. At the moment emission reductions achieved through capture and storage do not qualify for emission credits. Our appeal is for more effective project permitting and measures to reduce costs, for example through the European Technology Platform for Zero Emission Fossil Fuel Power Plants. These include granting emission credits for captured CO2 under the European Union’s Emission Trading System, and setting emission targets beyond 2012 to create a stable long-term investment framework.
We are also working to demonstrate the safety and reliability of long-term geological sequestration and to drive down its costs.
→ Shell Sustainability Report 2006
Visit the online Shell Sustainability Report 2006 and discover what we say about climate change - opens in a new window.
