Overview of the Carbon Capture and Storage Market (excerpt)
…Coal-fired power plants emit at least 50% more carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) than natural gas-burning plants, and there is international consensus that growth in coal power must be accompanied by deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that CCS will be needed to supply at least 15%—and as much as 55%—of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions needed to stabilize climate over the next century. In terms of quantities, carbon capture and storage will be relied upon to sequester at least 220 billion tons of CO2 and as much as 2,200 billion tons through the 21st Century. From the CCBJ perspective, if 60% of the U.S. power production from coal was fitted with carbon capture and storage technology at reasonable costs substantially lower than today’s R&D variety, this would represent the commercial potential of a $50 billion business in 2020…
This cover story includes CCS activity in Europe and Canada and a list of major carbon capture and storage projects, in addition to charts indicating percentage of U.S. electricity generation from coal and non hydro renewable energy sources, and the operating cost increase of coal fired plants with carbon capture and storage systems.
Look inside other CCBJ Editions
Other recent editions of Climate Change Business Journal look in detail at the renewable energy business, carbon trading, the solar energy industry, the wind energy industry, the biofuels business, the bioenergy industry, and the green building business. Each issue includes trend analysis and market size and market growth estimates. Segments of the cleantech industry to be covered in the coming months include an Overview of the Climate Change Industry and its nine CCBJ business segments, in addition to the energy efficiency business, demand response, the clean energy business, geothermal energy, the energy storage business, and the greenhouse gas market…
Read more excerpts from the Carbon Capture and Storage edition
Technology and EPC Vendors Compete in Emerging Carbon Capture and Storage Market
For energy companies, utilities and power plant developers who are contemplating carbon capture and storage (CCS) to control greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants, there can be few questions more important and challenging than deciding which technological pathways to pursue. The choice is predicated first on whether a company is looking to retrofit an existing coal plant or build a greenfield plant. For new-build projects, three options are possible--integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) with CO2 capture, pulverized coal (PC) with post-combustion capture, and oxyfuel firing with postcombustion capture with the additional option of building greater efficiency—and lower CO2 emissions per kWh—into PC plants by engineering them to operate at higher temperatures and pressures; known as supercritical or ultrasupercritical PC… (This article features a list of major competitors in carbon capture and storage technology.)
Carbon Capture and Storage Faces Major Infrastructure Challenges
Injecting CO2 into depleted oil and gas reservoirs is first link in the chain; storage in saline reservoirs also being pursued.
If carbon capture and storage is to become a major contributor to climate change mitigation, a vast new CO2 transport and storage infrastructure of compressors, pipelines, injection wells, monitoring wells and other systems must be developed… According to a “Special Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), most researchers agree that the near-term feasible CO2 storage options are underground injection into deep onshore and offshore geological formations, primarily depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline aquifers, the latter of which are sedimentary rock formations saturated with water and dissolved salts. The next most likely options are injection into coal beds and basaltic rock formations, although less is known about storing CO2 in these formations.
There are other potential storage methods…
Experts Suggest Strategies for Long-Term Management of CO2 Storage Risks
Lack of historical data for measuring and monetizing risk pose obstacle for insurance and financial communities.
As coal power generators, oilsands producers, natural gas processors and other heavy greenhouse gas emitters explore their options for capturing and storing CO2, they face some fundamental uncertainties around risk management and financial responsibility for an industrial process that will need to securely store hundreds of billions of tons of CO2 for hundreds of years. “There are all sorts of quirky angles to this,” said Matt Elkington, vice president of risk consulting practice at risk and insurance services firm Marsh…
Race Is On To Commercialize Post-Combustion Technology For CO2 Capture
Alstom, Powerspan, HTC Purenergy, Mitsubishi, Carbozyme and Siemens talk about the advantages of their carbon capture and storage systems, and the challenges of the CCS market.
….Post-combustion capture approaches have been tested at pilot scale, and pre-commercial demonstrations at larger scales are in the works. Companies are working quickly to improve their performance, ratchet up reliability and lower parasitic energy demands. Competing for position in this nascent market is a rather small group that is spread across Asia, North America and Europe. Major players include Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), France’s Alstom, Germany’s BASF, Canada’s HTC Purenergy, and U.S-based companies Fluor Corp. (licensee of the ABB Lummus technology), Kerr-McGee and Powerspan. Several of these firms have made recent announcements regarding partnerships with energy companies…
Environmental Consulting Firms Size Up the Carbon Capture and Storage Market
Ecology and Environment, M.J. Bradley, Monitor Scientific and Potomac-Hudson reflect on emerging niches in CCS.
As the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry develops, much of the contracted work on demonstration projects is going to companies with expertise serving the oil and gas industries, and these firms will likely be the main players handling storage at the end of CO2 pipelines when and if CCS becomes a large commercial industry…. In particular, large oilfield services companies such as Schlumberger and Halliburton (charter members of the recently formed North American Carbon Capture Assn.) are pursuing business in CO2 injection (see story on page 11). However, CCS is shaping up to be a business segment big and diverse enough to have room at the table for a range of environmental consulting firms…
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