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At a Glance
The CO2 Capture Project:
- Is a joint project comprising eight of the
world's leading energy companies.
- Aims to reduce the cost of CO2 capture from
combustion sources.
- Is developing methods for safely storing CO2
underground.
- Is working together with governments, NGO's,
and other stakeholders to deliver technology that is cost-effective
and meets the needs of society.
- CO2 capture and geologic storage are bridging
technologies that will help move society towards cleaner fuels
in the future.
- Technologies developed by this project will
be used in many different industries and applications around the
world.
The CO2 Capture Project
The prospect of global climate change is a matter
of genuine public concern. The concentration of man-made CO2 in
the atmosphere has been increasing since the start of industrialization
in the 19th century, and more rapidly during the second half of
the 20th century. Despite uncertainty about the relationship between
increased CO2 concentration and rising global temperatures, a consensus
view is forming that mankind is having a discernible effect on the
climate.
The main contributor to increasing atmospheric
CO2 concentration is fossil fuel combustion for power generation,
transport, industry, and domestic use. Fossil fuels( coal, oil and
natural gas) have underpinned the development of the economies in
the industrialized countries around the world. The demand for energy
is expected to grow in the developed countries and in particular
in the developing countries, as they strive to obtain a higher standard
of living.
Energy companies have been investing in alternatives
to fossil fuels, including renewables such as solar power, but believe
that these are unlikely to replace fossil fuels in the short to
medium term if the world's ever-increasing energy requirements are
to be met at an acceptable cost. Fossil fuels will still be in demand
for the foreseeable future and progressive energy companies have
recognized that, in supplying fossil fuels, prudent precautionary
measures to limit combustion emissions are required now.
CO2 capture and geologic storage offer a new set
of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that can complement
the current strategies of improving energy efficiency and increasing
the use of non-fossil energy resources.
The CO2 Capture Project is an international effort
funded by eight of the world's leading energy companies. This project
intends to address the issue of reducing emissions in a manner that
will contribute to an environmentally acceptable and competitively
priced continuous energy supply for the world.
The project seeks to develop new
technologies to reduce the cost of capturing CO2 from combustion
sources and safely store it underground. These technologies will
be applicable to a large fraction of CO2 sources around the world
- such as power plants and other industrial processes. Implementing
these new technologies during this decade will reduce the impact
of continued fossil energy use while cleaner energy sources are
being developed.
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Project Objectives
The primary objective of the CO2 Capture Project
(CCP) is to develop new, breakthrough technologies to reduce the
cost of CO2 separation, capture, and geologic storage from combustion
sources such as turbines, heaters, and boilers. The CCP will accomplish
this objective by:
- Performing benchtop research and development
(engineering studies, computer modeling, laboratory experiments)
to prove the feasibility of advanced CO2 separation and capture
technologies, specifically targeting post-combustion methods,
pre-combustion decarbonization, and oxyfuel.
- Developing guidelines for maximizing safe geologic
storage, for measuring and verifying stored volumes, and for assessing
and mitigating storage risks.
- Developing an economic model to establish lifecycle
CO2 separation, capture and sequestration costs for current and
best technologies to compare alternatives and direct the research
and development towards the most promising technologies.
- Actively transferring and making available
the new technologies to industry via publications, presentations,
conferences, an Internet website, patent licenses and commercial
services.
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Progress Through Partnership
A distinctive aspect of
the CO2 Capture Project is an emphasis on collaboration and partnership
with governments, industry, NGO's and other stakeholders. The members
of the project recognize that the challenges associated with global
climate change require solutions that are economically and socially
acceptable to all.
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