
The role of technology in the energy transition
The Shell of today is built on 125 years of innovation – and today, technology helps us to play a part in addressing climate change and has been crucial in our response to unexpected global events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Four examples show how Shell applies innovation to produce more and cleaner energy.
Capturing carbon
In 2019, we successfully completed a one-year pilot project to separate carbon dioxide (CO2) from the exhaust gases of a biomass power plant in Vienna, Austria. The project captured 0.7 tonnes of CO2 per day. The technology meets high CO2 recovery and purity standards and has the potential to cut separation costs per tonne of CO2 by up to 25%, compared to leading alternatives. We are now working to develop the technology to commercial scale so we can capture around 200 times more CO2. We developed the technology and operated the project in collaboration with two Austrian universities, TU Wien and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, and six other partners. The pilot project and preceding research resulted in eight PhDs and 15 published papers. Read more about capturing CO2 in carbon capture and storage.
Plastic waste as feedstock for chemical plants
In 2019, we successfully produced chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste. The technique, known as pyrolysis, turns hard-to-recycle plastic waste into chemicals that are used to make new plastics. These are the building blocks of everyday consumer goods like clothing, computers and mobile phones. This innovation takes us one step closer to our ambition to use 1 million tonnes of plastic waste a year in our global chemical plants by 2025 (see Plastics).
Measuring carbon uptake in nature
Measuring the level of CO2 that is absorbed by nature, such as forests, grasslands and wetlands, is an important technique for assessing the health of ecosystems and the impacts of climate change. For Shell, it is an essential tool that measures the carbon uptake of our nature-based solutions (see Nature-based solutions) so that we can offer carbon credits to our customers transparently. Together with the University of Exeter, UK, we are developing and field-testing advanced measuring equipment that continuously monitors the carbon uptake in a natural ecosystem. The system is small and compact and a fraction of the cost of other systems on the market, while producing accurate data that can be accessed remotely. This will allow scientists to deploy more carbon flux measuring systems and gather more data on ecosystem health and climate change. For Shell it provides cost-effective and accurate measurement of carbon uptake in our nature-based solutions.
Blockchain activity in Shell
Shell is currently progressing multiple projects that are at different stages of maturity ranging from proof-of-value, to proof-of-concepts and pilots. We are actively creating new business opportunities with blockchain. To create new business opportunities and form new ecosystems based on blockchain, Shell is actively working with, or investing in, start-ups and emerging companies, participating in industry consortia, and establishing joint ventures.
Read more about Shell’s blockchain activities on the blockchain page.
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