The Australian Ministers for Energy and Emissions Reduction and Resources, Water and Northern Australia announced in early March the launch of the new Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Development Fund.

The Fund will make $50 million available to reduce technical and commercial barriers to deploying CCUS technologies and to identify potential project sites. Policymakers hope that Australia will emerge as a leader in carbon storage, leveraging natural advantages such as globally recognised geological formations.

The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Pilot Project has announced the commencement of operations. The HESC Pilot is developing a complete hydrogen supply chain, creating hydrogen gas via the gasification of Latrobe Valley coal, transport to the Port of Hastings for liquefaction, and shipment to Japan.

CO2CRC played an important role in the HESC project with responsibility for conducting FEED (front end engineering and design) studies and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) services for delivery of the pilot hydrogen refining facility.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said “The HESC project will assist in establishing local hydrogen skills, capabilities and infrastructure that will provide a platform for the development of a broad hydrogen industry in Victoria and Australia.” The Victorian government is also investing in the related carbon capture and storage project known as CarbonNet.

In a joint media release with Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, said “A commercial-scale HESC project could produce up to 225,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year with carbon capture and storage. It’s a great example of Australian resources supporting new low emissions energy production.”

CO2CRC announced the launch of CO2Tech, a multi-disciplinary technical consultancy that will provide advisory and project management services across the CCUS value chain.

According to CO2CRC CEO David Byers, "CO2Tech will be pleased to work with industry customers to help them achieve their emissions reductions goals by applying individualised technologies and techniques that result in lower costs for capturing, storing or utilising CO₂.”

CO2Tech will have access to the Otway International Test Centre (OITC) and CO2CRC’s expertise via commercial agreements.

In early March, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) released a report calling for scaled up investment in CCUS. The report highlighted that CCUS is an essential part of efforts to achieve emissions neutrality.

"Countries need to include CCUS in long-term strategies and commence retrofitting existing infrastructure." notes the report.

A recent commentary article released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) addressed cost concerns raised by critics of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS). The article presents a nuanced picture of the spectrum of CCUS applications, and how costs for each are evolving.

The authors point out that the cost of carbon capture varies greatly depending on the source of the emissions - USD 15-25/t CO₂ for industrial processes producing “pure” or highly concentrated CO₂ streams (such as ethanol production or natural gas processing) to USD 40-120/t CO₂ for processes with “dilute” gas streams, such as cement production and power generation.

French energy major Engie and Norwegian firm Equinor have announced that they will collaborate on low-carbon hydrogen, capturing and storing CO₂ emissions off-shore. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of a low-emissions hydrogen value chain across Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Neither company is a stranger to blue hydrogen projects, and both have committed to making the alternative fuel source available to their customers. According to Grete Tveit, Equinor’s senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions: "We believe that hydrogen and CCS will be vital if we are going to succeed with the transition [to low-emissions energy]."

Group CEO and President of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kenji Terasawa published an opinion piece in late February emphasising that despite the impressive growth of renewable energy sources in Europe, they will not single-handedly enable net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. He urged European governments to include CCS as a focus area in emissions reduction strategies.

Mr Terasawa points out that CCS can remove more than 90% of the CO₂ generated by many industrial processes and can contribute to new forms of fuel for long-distance transport. CCS can also improve the environmental performance of fossil fuel-to-hydrogen projects; a necessary first step to stimulate demand and enable an eventual shift to green hydrogen.

As part of its own R&D efforts, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has developed a proprietary solvent for capturing CO₂ that will undergo testing at Norway's Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM).

The UK government has announced the launch of a new Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy that will see £171 million put towards hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. The dedicated £171m funding is part of a larger £1 billion investment.

Drax - a UK energy company that operates an electricity plant in North Yorkshire that has been largely converted from coal to biomass - has announced plans to progressively add CCS capacity. 

The technology - known as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) - would reportedly capture as much as 95% of emissions from the 47-year-old facility. Emissions would be transported to the planned zero carbon hub in the Humber region, which has been mentioned in this newsletter before

Once at scale, the Midwest-based facility will capture and store up to 10 million tons of CO₂ per year. Emissions sources targeted include nearby biofuel refineries, reportedly helping them lower their emissions by 50%.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is seeking to reduce its operating emissions and increase rates of carbon storage.

The company has already announced a CCS partnership with Total, and is seeking other partners with the capacity to capture and store emissions from fossil-fuel power plants, and from heavy industry such as steel and cement making.

Sultan Al Jaber, group CEO, stated that “there is no credible way of reaching global climate goals without seriously advancing and ensuring the widespread adoption of carbon capture and storage.”

Enhance Energy, a Canadian carbon mitigation company, has announced that their projects have resulted in the sequestration of more than one million tonnes of CO₂, some of which has been used for enhanced oil recovery. This was achieved in just eight months of at-scale operation.

Enhance Energy founded the Albert Carbon Trunk Line project. The CO₂ transport infrastructure is now operated by Wolf Midstream.

According to Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, “Carbon capture technology creates jobs, lowers emissions, and increases our competitiveness. It’s how we get to net-zero.”

Japanese investment bank Mitsui has announced the acquisition of a 15.4% stake in Storegga Geotechnologies (SG), which is developing the Acorn project, one of the UK's largest CCS initiatives.

"Mitsui believes providing low-carbon solutions to hard-to-abate industries such as energy will be critical in achieving net-carbon zero targets." stated Masaharu Okubo, Chief Operating Officer of the Energy Business Unit.