Industrial Decarbonization and the Role of CCUS (Carbon Capture and Utilization and Storage): A Canadian Outlook

This blog relates information about CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage) from a panel discussion with participation from three major research universities in North America (and guests), with locations in important energy producing areas:

o   University of Alberta, Canada

o   University of Texas – Austin, U.S.

o   Tech de Monterey, Mexico

This is actually the fourth in a series of lectures on the subject.  The title is a bit misleading – this is more than just a Canadian outlook.

Unfortunately I didn’t see the first three talks – hopefully they have been saved on a website.

There was a lot of talk about carbon capture and sequestration in the past, which was often dismissed as uneconomic, unreliable or environmentally dangerous (a way to extend fossil fuel usage).  Recently, the whole idea has become much more mainstream.  This panel talk focuses on its use to decarbonize some key industrial process, which produce a lot of CO2 (notably steel, chemicals and cement).  I don’t know how much the situation has really changed, but it is worthwhile listening to these more recent claims, for context.

Note that I have kept my review of the discussion in point form.  I can’t guarantee that I got every detail right, but the overall essence of the talk is here.

General Observations and Context (Dr. Jeremy Cherlet, U of A)

o   Dr. Cherlet has a wide experience in CCUS research, including North America, Australia, and other areas with intensive knowledge of international standards.

o   Industrial decarbonization is becoming increasingly important.  Previously most work was done around power plant carbon capture and sequestration, but now the field is moving on to other areas:

o   CO2 used for enhanced recovery of natural gas or oil.

o   Pure storage of CO2.

o   Creation of products from CO2 such as low carbon fuels.

o   Capture of CO2 from the atmosphere.

o   During the past few years there has been much more interest in the use of CCUS for industrial decarbonization especially in steel, chemical and concrete production.

o   CCUS could also play a major role in the developing hydrogen economy, decarbonizing the production of “blue hydrogen” (from natural gas).

o   Industrial decarbonization will play a major role in the climate agenda, as industry produces about 25% of CO2 and makes up about 40% of energy usage.  With global population growth and economic development, industrial activity is bound to increase, so decarbonization efforts will be of prime importance.

o   These are all difficult challenges, that will require a combination of technological solutions, private industry cooperation and policy action (i.e. national and international government regulations).

o   Abatement can reduce emissions, but there will remain a need for CCUS due to the inherent chemistry and physics of some industrial production, which produce CO2.

o   Important policy actions include:

o   Hubs with shared infrastructure, such as CO2 pipelines and storage areas to reduce barrier of entry costs for industries and share these costs among many players.

o   Markets have to be constructed in such a way that people are willing to pay for low CO2 products.  CCUS will play an important part in this.

o   There are large amounts of CO2 involved, so significant investments of time, money and research will be involved.

o   Hubs and Clusters:

o   Alberta carbon trunk line (now built) which industry can use to store CO2 and help with enhanced energy recovery.

o   Related infrastructure has been built, is being built or is being planned in many other countries, such as the U.K. and Netherlands.

o   Much of this work has been related to energy or power production in some way, until now.  However CCUS for industrial decarbonization is now becoming important.

o   However industrial capture is a very different economic and technical environment.  Multiple companies and industries are involved, so there are issues of cooperation, determining how to share risks such as storage leaks among these players, and how to apportion costs and rewards for decarbonization.

o   Other issues in involve ESG – where does the CO2 go and who decides that?

o   Another issue is, how pure does the CO2 being added to storage have to be.

o   Also, what about scalability?  Will there be enough geological storage available as the hub grows?

 

U.S. Participant (Katherine Romaniuk, University of Texas)

o   She has a great deal of experience in monitoring CCS sites, both from a technical point of view and a policy point of view.

o   Secure storage requires constant monitoring, in order to ensure that the seal is ok (no leakage).

o   This includes underground monitoring (e.g. ground water) as well as near surface monitoring (e.g. atmospheric monitoring near the storage site).

o   Presently, “leakage” is defined as CO2 getting to the atmosphere.  When that happens, industries lose the financial credit they have earned from their decarbonization efforts and might suffer other penalties.

o   This means that constant effective and accurate monitoring is needed.

o   There are well-established guidelines and regulations that have already been developed in the U.S. and are being taken up in other countries.

o   These regulations are mainly concerned with performance (i.e. are there leaks) and not very concerned with the specifics of the project (no micromanagement).  Approaches can vary from site to site, as long as they work.

o   CO2 reductions can come from any source, not just from fuel reductions or efficiencies.  For example, this might include direct air capture, using CO2 in industrial products as a form of “capture” or reducing CO2 usage in some industrial process.

o   The storage site must accept CO2 from any source (agnostic).

o   Primary methods:

o   Tax credits for decarbonization (currently at $50 per ton but will go up).  Many U.S. projects are being developed under this model.

o   Cap and trade markets, with thresholds and credit trading.  California is especially keen on this model.

o   Tax credits tend to be used more in the U.S., while cap and trade are often used internationally.

o   An advantage for tax credits is that the economics are predictable (price on carbon).

o   Cap and trade is more unpredictable as the market is dynamic and costs and rewards can vary over time, depending on market circumstances.

o   Monitoring requirements ae the foundation of the system.  Monitoring efforts must be consistent and “not omitted”.

o   Monitoring helps with the old adage, “Trust but verify”.

 

Mexico Participant (Nestor Mora, CEMEX)

o   This company’s main business is the production of cement, which is CO2 intensive.

o   It has been active in CO2 reduction, with roughly 25% reduction since 1990.

o   Reductions and efficiencies have been achieved throughout the process.  Examples are:

o   Use of alternative fuels that have lower CO2 emissions.

o   Decarbonization of raw materials.

o   Development of lower temperature “clinker” (basic constituent of cement).

o   Carbon capture and storage.

o   Use of waste CO2 for various products, such as artificial fuels.

o   Development of CO2 for use in other products, in general.

o   “Solar Calcination”.

o   The company’s mission is to be net-neutral by 2050.  Some of the main requirements for this that they foresee are:

o   The need to adapt plants to use non-fossil fuel sources.

o   The need to develop alternative raw materials.

o   In general, these include both CO2 avoidance and CO2 mitigation (including carbon capture).

o   Some examples of success:

o   A plant in Poland has had 92% CO2 reduction.

o   LEILAC is a new low carbon cement plant technology that has been developed by the company and is beginning to be rolled out in the U.S..

 

Canada Participant (Drew Layburne, Natural Resources Canada)

o   He is mainly involved in the policy side of CCUS.

o   NRC labs have been working on CCS since the 1980s.

o   A few important historical examples are Quest, the Saskatchewan Boundary Dam Project and the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line.

o   In the last 5 years, the interest and the financial investments have grown significantly.

o   This growth is considered likely to continue and will be exponential in the foreseeable future.

o   Some important factors in developing CCS further are:

o   Technological efforts to bring down the cost of carbon capture.

o   The rising price of carbon taxes, which will eventually reach $170 per ton.

o   Policy prescriptions such as achievable targets.

o   Cooperation between the federal and provincial governments.

o   Development of CCS hubs, which ease the path for new entrants.

o   A new CCS strategy is to come out in the fall.

o   It will focus on six pathways, including industrial decarbonization.

o   The intent is to have industry expand into these areas in an organic way, without the government pushing too much.

 

Some Questions and Answers with the Panelists

o   Credits.  How do you see managing this within industry in general rather than just in the transport and storage sector.

o   Effective monitoring is crucial.

o   There is a need for a “colour blind” approach.

o   Monetization will be done via credit.

o   Partnerships will need to evolve.

o   In the journey from cement production decarbonization to carbon storage, for example, how do you share credits, risks, etc.

o   Part of this will be done by CO2 avoidance and part by CO2 mitigation, rather than strictly through storage (though storage will always be part of the net zero initiative).

o   Minimize barriers to entry and structure things in a way to give entrepreneurs an opportunity to make money through the process.  For example, oil companies could sell CCS-related  knowledge and technology that they have developed.  This is already occurring in Alberta via competitive access to storage “pore space”.

o   Most development has been related to power plants and enhanced oil recovery.  How will it apply to industrial decarbonization?

o   CCS coal plants probably won’t be expanded in Canada, but oil sands plants will likely go heavily into this.

o   Canada has other options than coal/CCS but other countries may focus on this if necessary (i.e. depending on their resource bases).

o   Sometimes CCS will be the primary solution, other industries might use mitigation and avoidance.

o   Some environmentalists object to CCS as an enabler of fossil fuels.  How do you respond to these “public acceptance issues”.

o   The public needs to be better educated on the realities of the path to carbon reduction.  For example, they tend to be very supportive of atmospheric capture, though it is far less realistic than CCS for the foreseeable future.

o   As the various systems are built out, the public will begin to see how CCS is an important part of the entire process (e.g. orders of magnitude more renewables are needed for a 100% renewable solution, which is not currently feasible).

 

And here is a description of a (relatively) carbon-emission reduced adventure, which you can buy on Kindle (also carbon-emission reduced, compared to paper).

A Ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail: A Biking Journal Kindle Edition

by Dale Olausen (Author), Helena Puumala (Editor)

The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is one of the longest and most scenic biking and hiking trails in Canada. It covers a good stretch of the south-central interior of British Columbia, about 600 kilometers of scenic countryside. British Columbia is one of the most beautiful areas of Canada, which is itself a beautiful country, ideal for those who appreciate natural splendour and achievable adventure in the great outdoors.

The trail passes through a great variety of geographical and geological regions, from mountains to valleys, along scenic lakes and rivers, to dry near-desert condition grasslands. It often features towering canyons, spanned by a combination of high trestle bridges and long tunnels, as it passes through wild, unpopulated country. At other times, it remains quite low, in populated valleys, alongside spectacular water features such as beautiful Lake Okanagan, an area that is home to hundreds of vineyards, as well as other civilized comforts.

The trail is a nice test of one’s physical fitness, as well as one’s wits and adaptability, as much of it does travel through true wilderness. The views are spectacular, the wildlife is plentiful and the people are friendly. What more could one ask for?

What follows is a journal of two summers of adventure, biking most of the trail in the late 1990s. It is about 33,000 words in length (2 to 3 hours reading), and contains numerous photographs of the trail. There are also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora and fauna, and associated information.

After reading this account, you should have a good sense of whether the trail is right for you. If you do decide to ride the trail, it will be an experience you will never forget.

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GBG8JE0

Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GBG8JE0

Amazon Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01GBG8JE0

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01GBG8JE0

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01GBG8JE0