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:

• International industry and government partners cooperatively direct and fund the development of CO₂ capture and storage technologies with the aim of advancing the science and expanding the potential scope of implementation.

• Identify and address critical issues around assurance of geological storage of CO₂. Contribute to global efforts to establish best practices for site characterization, process optimization, monitoring-verification and risk assessment.

• Identify and develop technologies to reduce the costs of capture of CO₂. emissions by 60-80 % from the 2000 baseline. lFinal reports will include costs of Capture, Transportation and Storage in terms of: incremental %, $ per ton of CO₂ avoided and product (electricity) in $ per MWh.

• Expand economic / infrastructure scenarios for complete integration of the CO₂ capture, transportation and storage value chain.

• Increase public acceptance and awareness of CO₂ Capture and Storage.

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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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