DG+ Staff Picks for Favorite Climate, Clean Energy, and Creative Resources
Barbara Weber
April 6, 2023
There’s a reason “Nerdy Learning” is a core value here at DG+Design. We share an excitement and curiosity for clean energy, climate change, and sustainability issues, as well as a passion for honing our creative and marketing skills. We embrace ongoing learning and training and strive to be thought leaders in our industry.
So it’s no surprise that our team takes full advantage of today’s diversity of content across various media forms. Curious about where we like to go to exercise our minds and expand our perspectives? Here’s a taste of what’s moved, informed, and rattled us as of late in the climate change and cleantech space, and on the more creative side of things:
“Aside from the obvious choices from Canary Media and Post Script Media, this is one that’s less known, but sheds light on energy issues beyond cleantech or climate.” – David Ganske
The Catalyst with Shayle Kann and The Carbon Copy ↗
“These are both fantastic. The Carbon Copy is hosted by Stephen Lacey (former host of The Energy Gang) and it focuses heavily on issues, ideas, and news about the clean energy transition. The Catalyst is also fantastic; it also focuses on cleantech, but it also covers other topics under the broad umbrella of decarbonization.” – Kathleen Gill
“I’ve been a huge fan of The Energy Gang for years. It was the first energy-specific podcast that I listened to when I first started working in the energy and sustainability space. For the first dozen episodes or so, there were huge parts of the discussions that were too wonky or technical for me to understand, but their lively banter and range of perspectives kept me engaged. I listen to it far less often now that the original “gang” (Katherine Hamilton, Jigar Shah, and Stephen Lacey) has moved on, but its new host Ed Crooks continues to foster comprehensive and interesting discussions about all things energy and the environment. This is 100% one of the top clean energy focused podcasts that I’ve recommended to others.” – Kathleen Gill
“As I transitioned from the climate change advocacy space into clean energy, this was one of the first resources my colleagues recommended and it’s been incredibly helpful in getting me up to speed in this industry and space.” – Barbara Weber
“I still listen to The Energy Gang though I prefer the older episodes (which are still available). The original gang offered a well-balanced take on the latest energy news, with Jigar (Shah) dishing out healthy skepticism, Katherine (Hamilton) offering boundless optimism, and Stephen (Lacey) serving as an excellent moderator and facilitator. ” – Julianne Waite
“This podcast explains up-to-date information and news on cleantech, which is interesting and helpful for me in this role.” – Mary Duncan-Sain
“This is a solar-specific podcast. It’s recently been climbing my list because it covers everything from policy to finance, and often brings in experts to talk about the nuts and bolts of current events in solar. Because its target audience seems to be developers, financiers, and others that are in the solar industry, it can get really wonky (which I personally love).” – Kathleen Gill
“This podcast is extra cool because it’s not produced by a huge corporation like WoodMac – it’s literally the passion project of David Roberts, an industry veteran, and it’s supported by listeners. He also has a weekly newsletter. I personally find the episodes where he discusses a topic with another industry expert more engaging than the episodes where he reads one of his written articles out loud, but I really appreciate that he takes the time to ensure accessibility for anyone who wants to engage with his content.“ – Kathleen Gill
“As it describes itself, this is a true crime podcast about climate change. And it will simultaneously inform, fascinate, and infuriate anyone who listens to it. That said, it’s a must.” – Barbara Weber
“This incredible dramatic miniseries tells the story of the people and events behind the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 1986. It shows how poor decision making resulted in a crisis that should have been prevented.” – David Ganske
“This Disney movie is many things, but at its core it’s a message to all of us regarding the importance of learning to understand and respect the ecosystem. It's tough to fathom where we would be today if it wasn’t for the discovery and proliferation of fossil fuels, but at the same time, it’s pretty clear where we’ll be tomorrow if we keep ignoring the blazing warning signs all around us. This movie boils down this dark, yet important messaging into an extremely entertaining, child-friendly format. This is the exact type of content that is needed to help today’s kids come to terms with reality and prepare to tackle the issues that are going to be plaguing them for the rest of their lives. Parents and children will disagree on the best course of action, but we’ll do our best to try and encourage each other to understand, and participate in solving this existential problem.” – Mel Phillips
“This film was equal parts devastating as it was uplifting and so, so informative. I felt like I walked away with an entire education on the magic of regenerative agriculture and the role it can play in addressing climate change while feeding the world.” – Barbara Weber
“This was a very interesting, digestible movie on sustainable agriculture. It has a great soundtrack, too!" – Gavin Chisholm
“This film by photographer James Balog, who also brought us the 2012 film Chasing Ice (another must watch), does something I haven’t seen other climate-related films do; it makes the impacts of climate change actually tangible, on a hyper-localized level. And he does it with incredible storytelling, stunning imagery, and a proactive message that leaves viewers with hope.” – Barbara Weber
“I may be biased as this was written by a mentor of mine, Naomi Oreskes, but it’s a fascinating account of how the fossil fuel industry essentially hired the same lobbyists the tobacco industry used to cast doubt on the health impacts of cigarettes, to cast doubt on the impacts of climate change. Naomi has a PhD in the History of Science and has spent decades uncovering the criminal behavior of the fossil fuel industry and its role in climate change. It was also made into a major motion picture.” – Barbara Weber
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance ↗
“This biography introduces us to Musk as a child and tells the story of his serial entrepreneurship. Even if you don't like Musk's antics, it’s worth a read.” – David Ganske
“This book has great advice for creating, running, and managing a thoughtful, sustainable business from the renowned anti-businessman himself. It’s helped me be more mindful about my own consumer habits and tendencies. But the real joy is learning about the incredible life of one of the greats.” – Kathleen Gill
“My first job out of college was in a Patagonia store and this book, by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, was given to me on my first day. The book, his ethos, the culture he’s created with Patagonia, and my experience working for them set me on the path I’m on today and have been a beacon for me throughout the entirety of my career. I love to gift this book to leaders I’ve met throughout the years, especially those who lean a bit more on the conservative side. It’s my own subtle nudge to show them you can lead a successful, profitable company that still does right by its people and the planet.” – Barbara Weber
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert ↗
“This is an excellent book for anyone that wants to analyze the modern world and investigate how humans have changed it forever. Each section of this book reviews different topics, unique situations in which humans have disrupted the “status quo”, creating new problems by trying to solve others. We’ve introduced invasive species to new habitats that are wreaking havoc on ecosystems, we’ve disrupted or even redirected the flow of rivers for the sake of preserving cities. And now, scientists are considering injecting sulfur into the atmosphere for the sake of artificially cooling our planet. The moral of this book is clear: anything that we do as a species is going to have a consequence, which means that we need to be extremely diligent in our planning from here on out lest we make matters even worse in trying to make them better.” – Mel Phillips
The Life and Death of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan ↗
“This book is an interesting history of the largest freshwater system in the world.” – Gavin Chisholm
“This is a simple weekday newsletter that highlights good climate-related news, including one of their stories and a shortlist of other news around cleantech and climatetech.” – David Ganske
Ed Carley’s Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs List ↗
“Ed Carley is a really cool guy whom I had the pleasure of getting to know six or seven years ago. He was an EDF Climate Corps Fellow when I worked at EDF Climate Corps, which is an awesome summer internship program run by the Environmental Defense Fund. This weekly email newsletter features the latest jobs in the industry and is helpful for anyone who wants to get into the space. It also has recent news and interesting articles that Ed has found.” – Kathleen Gill
“Of all of the climate newsletters that I follow, this one has the perfect balance between knowledgeable but succinct. All the important information from the day is included, and it's curated in a manner that condones quickly skimming through sections and clicking links for deeper dives into others.” – Mel Phillips
“This weekly newsletter is a great source for timely top climate-related news as well as recent jobs in the climate change and clean energy space. In fact, it’s how I found my role at DG+!” – Barbara Weber
“Every episode of this podcast is a wild ride of a deep dive into a different odd topic. The premise of the podcast is just delightful: ‘An encyclopedic reference of strange-but-true stories compiled as a time capsule for future generations. While the subject matter runs the gamut, listeners (endearingly dubbed "Futurelings") can always expect to learn something new and at least crack a smile if not an outright belly laugh. Hosts Ken Jennings (yup, the Jeopardy legend) and John Roderick (everyone’s favorite singer / songwriter / former Seattle City Council candidate) offer an approachable, informative, and extremely human take on things so normal you've never noticed them and things so weird you've never considered them. Omnibus is thoughtful and wandering, well-researched and unscripted. If I could craft my dream dinner party, John and Ken would be in attendance." – Julianne Waite
“This podcast is hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes, and is hilarious and entertaining. I consume a lot of heavy information somewhat regularly and this podcast is an excellent antidote to the despair and chaos in the world. It’s lighthearted and I love hearing about the journeys of the different creative people they interview weekly.” – Barbara Weber
“As a creator that didn’t go to design school, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning through Debbie Millman’s podcast where she discusses design with a variety of influential creatives.” – David Ganske
“While I don’t watch many shows or films related to marketing or design (sad, I know), I do appreciate it when photography and creative direction stand out. I also love apocalyptic science fiction and Severance was one that definitely stood out to me over the last year. From the camera angles and clothing style to color filters, architecture, retro technology, and acting, it was an incredible show and my favorite of the year.” – David Ganske
“This show is damn impressive. It’s extremely difficult to watch this show and not contemplate how this plausible may arise, considering how poorly the world is handling the Coronavirus. This show considers an absolute worst case scenario, and it’s got me glued to the screen.” – Mel Phillips
“This book often serves as a reference for me when we are working on rebranding projects. It discusses research, strategy, design, messaging, and so much more that should be considered during the process. If I’m ever stuck, this book helps me come up with new ideas.” – David Ganske
“This is the best, most creative book I’ve ever read. From the author that wrote ‘The Martian’, Andy Weir’s Project: Hail Mary is infinitely more gripping and thrilling than the 2015 film starring Matt Damon. I’m going to purposely refrain from sharing any information about the plot because the reveal/flow of the storyline is pristine. From the very first page, the reader is thrown into the center of a cinematic masterpiece – live it yourself and thank me later. Andy Weir is a savant when it comes to Sci-Fi (i.e. introducing a hypothetical scientific concept, and then thinking through exactly how that revelation would impact our society both for better and worse). Don’t wait, do yourself a favor, and read this book!” – Mel Phillips
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie ↗
“Of all the textbooks I spent way too much money on in college, where I studied advertising, this one was my favorite. In fact, I’ve kept my copy for 20 years now (it’s made many moves). It’s essentially a guide on how to maintain your creativity in a corporate world and not let bureaucracy get in the way or mediocrity suck you in.” – Barbara Weber
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron ↗
“This book has great reminders for how to get out of your own way.” – Gavin Chisholm
Mutants: On Genetic Variation and the Human Body ↗
“I was assigned this book by one of my favorite college professors and I have read it several times since. Equal parts scientific and sensitive, this book helped me understand that variety – genetic and otherwise – is literally what propels all organic life.” – Julianne Waite
“AIGA is a professional organization for designers that has helped me grow into a creative leader. Membership starts at a modest monthly fee and members get access to speaking events, classes, and other things. The discounts on Apple products can basically cover the cost.” – David Ganske
“AIGA allows me to stay connected with other designers and newest trends.” – Mary Duncan-Sain
“This is a blog on the future of advertising written by George Tannenbaum, a veteran of the advertising industry. His writing is sharp, thoughtful, with zero BS. I feel like I am sitting down having coffee with George every time I read it. It inspires me to be a better communicator.” – Melissa Stafford
“There are certain Subreddit threads I find myself going down a rabbit hole with. r/dataisbeautiful for instance, where people who love data find clever and creative ways to present it. r/oddlysatisfying…say no more. r/photoshopbattles is a ridiculously fun place where Photoshop wizards flex their skills and wit. reddit can certainly be weird, but reddit can also be amazing. ” – Julianne Waite
“Mary Roach is an author whose approach I love. Much like the podcast Omnibus, she picks taboo topics and focuses on aspects of it that are even more taboo, and does a deep dive into it with a mixture of humor and seriousness. If she’s writing about death for instance, she’ll talk to people who deal with dead bodies. She’s witty and hilarious and how she researches and presents information is really inspiring for me. If I could ever emulate how she writes, in even a small way, I would consider it a win.” – Julianne Waite
“This is a journal I’ve been following since it began in 2021; Suleika Jaouad started the account partly in response to isolation from the pandemic and also in part as a source of inspiration and journaling as she navigated her cancer returning. It’s grown to a large community of followers and contributors all sharing their small acts of creativity. I find the weekly prompts to always be greatly encouraging.” – Melissa Stafford
“This is by far my favorite YouTube channel. I don’t even play video games anymore, but they are and always will be fascinating to me. I enjoy following this channel because it effectively keeps me up to date on the latest video game crazes. The videos are always relatively short, punchy and have a weird brand of humor that almost always tickles me. The video game reviews are always entertaining and excellent. On top of all of that, it frequently does deep dives into the evolution of the gaming industry that are extremely educational. If you’re a video game fan, this is definitely worth checking out.” – Mel Phillips
“Mountainfilm is a film festival that happens in the stunning box canyon of Telluride, Colorado every Memorial Day weekend and has become one of my favorite events of the year over the last decade. It is a soul-filling, heart-tugging, mind-bending, thought-provoking weekend that brings together activists, storytellers, some of the most creative folks on the planet, and so much more. It is simply the most inspiring compilation of people, films, and discussions over the course of three days that fill my cup up and leave me motivated to be and do more in the world.” – Barbara Weber
“I started following Wendy at the beginning of the pandemic when I needed something for my daughter to do while I attempted to work. Draw Together has always been such a wonderful and delightful reminder to have fun with art and the things we create and to stay curious always (no matter what age you are)!” – Melissa Stafford
“Andy is an environmentalist and nature sculptor whose approach to making art out of nature is unreal. He is next level creative. Simply Google him and look at some of the pieces he’s created and you’ll see what I mean. Words don’t do him justice.” – Julianne Waite
“Peter Spear is a friend and wonderful brand strategist and every Friday morning he puts out a newsletter about human understanding in business and it never disappoints. I highly recommend it.” – Melissa Stafford
While this list is in no way exhaustive, we hope you’ve found a nugget or two on here that strike a cord and help educate, inform, or inspire you in some way.. And if you have recommendations of your own, we would love to hear them – please email us at hello@dgplusdesign.com to share your top recs!
Today, 65% of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) capacity is used to capture emissions from natural gas processing.
By 2030, hydrogen production, power generation, and heat will be the largest sectoral applications for CCUS.
CCUS is set to grow globally, with North America and Europe poised for particularly rapid growth over the next decade.
The vast majority of the captured carbon will be stored in permanent storage infrastructure by 2030, outpacing carbon use in enhanced oil recovery.
Expected CCUS capacity growth is still not sufficient to meet the IEA’s Net-Zero Emissions Scenario for 2050. Policymakers must enact measures from a wide range of policy and regulatory options available to them to further accelerate CCUS growth.
Overview
Driven by ambitious government emissions-reduction targets, a wide range of decarbonization strategies are underway all around the world, from renewable energy production to transportation electrification. Recently, however, a very different decarbonization approach has started to gain traction: carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Instead of replacing a polluting product or process with one that does not produce emissions, CCUS technologies remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from power plants and industrial processes, as well as directly from the atmosphere. The captured carbon can be stored (usually injected deep underground) or used for a wide range of applications, including the manufacturing of construction material, fertilizers, and bioplastics.
Despite its growing popularity, CCUS can be a controversial approach to climate change mitigation. Some opponents argue that developing CCUS technologies gives big emitters like fossil fuel companies a convenient excuse to keep extracting fossil fuels. Some observers also argue that relying too heavily on CCUS, rather than accelerating the use of emissions mitigation technologies, will not help the world meet crucial climate targets.
Despite such skepticism about CCUS, a growing number of governments and firms are deploying CCUS as part of their decarbonization strategies. This is because while the rapid deployment of renewable energy remains the primary strategy for global carbon emission mitigation, even in the most generous of projections, renewables alone will not be enough to meet key climate targets. This is why authoritative projections like those by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency (IEA) also include the use of CCUS technologies.
In this article, we investigate the current state and future projections of the global CCUS landscape: What sectors are employing it, and how is the captured carbon used? How do we expect CCUS deployment to grow in the future? What policies and incentives are necessary for CCUS to reach its potential as a key pillar of a decarbonized society?
To answer these questions, we analyzed the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) CCUS Projects Database. This database covers all CO2 capture, transport, storage, and utilization projects worldwide that have been commissioned since the 1970s and have an announced capacity of more than 100,000 tons per year (or 1,000 tons per year for direct air capture facilities).
Today’s Global CCUS Market
Natural Gas Processing Dominates Global CCUS Applications Today
For the sake of this analysis, “sectoral application” refers to the industry in which CCUS is deployed to capture the emitted carbon before it is stored or transported for use. Broadly speaking, there are eight sectoral applications for CCUS technologies today:
Natural gas processing: CCUS is used to capture carbon emissions from purifying raw natural gas to produce pipeline quality natural gas.
Hydrogen and ammonia production: Hydrogen is a molecule that does not emit carbon when combusted, and has the potential as a clean fuel for the industrial, transport, and power sectors. Ammonia can also be used as a zero-carbon fuel for power generation and a carrier for hydrogen. Yet most hydrogen and ammonia production today uses fossil fuels. CCUS offers a potential solution, as capturing the carbon emitted from hydrogen and ammonia production is a cheaper strategy than using renewable energy to produce these fuels in most regions.
Biofuels: Facilities that produce biofuels like bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas are also responsible for CO2 emissions, and carbon capture technologies can be used to remove these emissions.
Other fuel transformation: Carbon capture technology is used to sequester emissions from facilities that produce and refine fuels other than natural gas, hydrogen, ammonia and biofuels.
Iron and steel plants: Some industrial processes, notably iron and steel manufacturing, are highly energy intensive and cannot easily be decarbonized. CCUS is one of the most promising emissions reduction methods for these facilities.
Other industry: CCUS is applied to industrial facilities other than iron and steel, such as aluminum smelters, pulp and paper mills, etc.
Power and heat generation: Power and heat generation account for about 30% of primary greenhouse gas emissions globally. Owners of fossil fuel power plants use CCUS to cut those emissions when power and heat are generated.
Directly from the air: Through direct air capture (DAC), CO2 can be removed directly from the atmosphere.
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As the chart above shows, natural gas processing is the dominant of these eight CCUS applications; today, 65% of all CCUS capacity is in the natural gas processing sector. Natural gas processing plants in North America were the earliest adopters of CCUS in the 1970s and 1980s because of the relatively low cost of capturing carbon from these processes and the ability to supply it to local oil producers for oil recovery operations.
Over the last two decades, carbon capture capacity in natural gas processing has increased by 265%, from 8.5 megatons (Mt) of CO2 per year in 2000 to over 31 Mt CO2 per year in 2022. This growth follows the steady increase in natural gas production globally.
Other applications pale in comparison. 7.3 Mt CO2 per year is captured from other fuel transformation processes, 3.5 Mt CO2 from industrial plants other than iron and steel, and 1.6 Mt CO2 from the production of biofuels. The sectors where carbon capture technology will be essential in decarbonization efforts – power generation and heat, as well as iron and steel manufacturing – are still lagging behind at 1.3 and 0.9 Mt CO2 per year, respectively. At 0.004 Mt CO2 per year, DAC capacity is also still in its infancy.
CCUS deployment in sectors other than natural gas processing face a common barrier: the lack of commercial value in capturing CO2. This, combined with the extremely high cost of developing a CCUS project in the absence of substantial and consistent policy support, has made CCUS deployment in industrial applications commercially unattractive. DAC projects are especially costly because the technology is still in its infancy, so there are relatively few companies that develop them.
Policy Support is Scaling CCUS
To address these common barriers, governments have been proactive in passing and implementing measures to encourage the growth of CCUS projects over the past few years. Here, we highlight several of these policy initiatives in North America and Europe.
In the US, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 offers a considerable boost for CCUS through a tax credit. This tax credit nearly doubles for carbon that is captured from power and industrial plants, and more than triples for CO2 captured from DAC: $60/tonne for utilization from industrial and power sectors, $85/tonne for storing CO2 captured from industrial and power generation facilities in saline geologic formations, $130/tonne for utilization from DAC, and $180/tonne for storage in saline geologic formations from DAC.
This support is coupled with funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provides approximately $12 billion across the CCUS value chain in the form of R&D funding, loans, and permitting support over the next 5 years. These funding measures by the US government are the most ambitious of any country.
In Canada, the 2022 federal budget included an investment tax credit for CCUS projects that permanently store captured CO2 between 2022 and 2030, valued between 37.5 - 60% of the project cost depending on the type of project. 34 CCUS projects were announced in 2022 and 2023, which will help increase Canada’s CCUS capacity by almost 27 Mt CO2 per year by 2030.
In the European Union, funding programs and regulatory reforms will fuel much of this projected growth, particularly the Connecting Europe Facility - Energy ($6.3 billion between 2021 and 2027) and the Innovation Fund ($41.2 billion between 2020 and 2030) that fund CCUS and other clean energy projects.
Global Oil and Gas Players Lead the Market
While government policies are pivotal for expanding global CCUS capacity, it is companies that ultimately plan, develop, and operate these projects. This section identifies the major players listed in the IEA CCUS Database and highlights the efforts of some of these companies.
The table below shows the ten companies involved in the largest CO2 capture capacities and the core sector in which each company operates.
Company Name
Headquarters Country
Company Sector
Announced Avg. Capacity (Mt CO2/yr)
Equinor
Norway
Oil and gas
134
Fluxys
Belgium
Oil and gas
76
Shell
UK
Oil and gas
62.9
Air Liquide
France
Industrial
51.9
BP
UK
Oil and gas
41.3
Wintershell DEA
Germany
Oil and gas
38
Exxonmobil
USA
Oil and gas
38
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Japan
Industrial
27.3
Open Grid Europe (OGE)
Germany
Oil and gas
24.2
Denbury
USA
Oil and gas
21.5
Several patterns can be observed. First is the predominance of oil and gas companies in the CCUS industry. Oil majors including ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and Equinor are also some of the largest players developing CO2 capture infrastructure. With the recent announcement by ExxonMobil to acquire Denbury to expand its CCUS and enhanced oil recovery (more on this below) capacity, the oil majors in this list are set to consolidate even further. Although not included in the top 10, other US oil companies such as Valero and Chevron are also leading players in this field.
Also notable is the absence of companies that specialize in carbon capture in the top 10. Recently, several firms have garnered attention for their proprietary CCUS technologies, such as CarbFix, CarbonFree, Aker Carbon Capture, and LanzaTech. Yet compared to the multinational energy and manufacturing companies that occupy the top spots in the industry, these pure plays are still small, with total CCUS project capacities of less than 5 Mt CO2 per year each. However, the entry of these specialized companies into the CCUS value chain is encouraging. The IEA notes that the value chain that has historically been dominated by vertically integrated oil and gas companies are starting to break up, allowing new players to innovate and reduce costs in parts of the chain.
To offer deeper insight into the projects in which these companies are involved, we highlight four companies from the table above.
Equinor is a Norwegian oil and gas company whose portfolio also encompasses renewables and other low-carbon solutions. It is the largest provider of pipeline gas to Europe.
Since 1991, Equinor has been a partner in 23 CCUS projects, totalling an average announced capacity of 134 Mt of CO2 per year.
19 of these projects are still in the planning phase, 2 two are operational, 1 one is under construction and one has been decommissioned.
8 of these projects capture carbon from hydrogen/ammonia production processes, 8 others are related to CO2 transport and/or storage, and 3 are applied to natural gas processing.
In 20 of the 23 projects, the captured CO2 is stored permanently.
All but one of these projects are located in Europe (including the UK), with the sole exception of one project being in Algeria.
Shell, a British multinational oil and gas company that was formed in 1907, is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry.
Shell participates in 28 CCUS projects around the world, with a total capacity of 62.9 Mt of CO2 per year.
23 of these projects are in the planning phase, with the expected operation date ranging from 2024 to 2030.
3 of the projects are already operational, and 2 are under construction.
These projects’ applications vary widely, from 11 projects dedicated to CO2 transport and/or storage, 6 to hydrogen and ammonia production, 3 to natural gas processing, 3 to other fuel transformation, and the rest applied to power and heat, biofuels, and other industries.
In 22 of these projects, the captured CO2 is put into dedicated storage.
Air Liquide is a French multinational supplier of industrial gasses and services to a variety of industries, including medical, chemical, and electronic manufacturers.
It is involved in 29 CCUS projects whose average announced capacity totals 51.9 Mt CO2 per year.
17 of these projects transport the captured CO2, while 6 are in other fuel transformation, 3 are applied to cement manufacturing, 2 are in the iron and steel sectors, and 1 in other industry.
All 29 projects are still in the planning phase, with the expected operation date ranging from 2024 to 2040.
27 of these projects will be located in Europe, and the rest in the US.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is an industrial and electrical equipment manufacturer headquartered in Japan, whose wide-ranging portfolio includes aerospace and automotive components, air conditioners, utility vehicles, defense equipment and weapons, and power systems.
Mitsubishi is a partner on 17 CCUS projects, totaling 27.3 Mt CO2 per year in average announced capacity.
All 17 are still in the planning phase and will be located mostly in North America and the UK.
Their sectoral applications will be varied, with 5 projects capturing CO2 from hydrogen/ ammonia production processes, 3 from power and heat, 3 from natural gas processing, 3 dedicated to CO2 transport and storage, 2 from cement manufacturing, and the rest from other industries.
The CO2 captured from 11 of the projects will be permanently stored.
2030 Global Projections
The IEA data includes CCUS projects that have been announced as of March 2023, and whose construction and operation are expected in the future. In this section, we use that data to predict developments in the global CCUS landscape between now and 2030, both in terms of the geographic distribution of growth and the different fates of carbon.
North American and European Policy Will Drive Lead in Regional Capacity Growth
Growing recognition of the role of CCUS technologies in meeting net zero goals is translating into increased policy support all over the world, which in turn is spurring increased growth in CCUS projects. The predominant forms of policy support are tax credits for projects, funding for R&D, and regulatory reforms. Owing to these measures, over 140 new projects were announced globally in 2022, bringing the global announced CCUS capacity up to 45.8 Mt CO2 per year. This compares to 35.7 Mt CO2 per year in 2017, a 28.3% increase over five years.
Looking ahead to 2030, this growth in CCUS capacity is set to accelerate. We can see this trend in the chart below.
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North America will likely account for the vast majority of the increase in CCUS capacity over the next decade, rising roughly 6x from 27.7 Mt CO2 per year in 2023 to 161.8 Mt CO2 per year in 2030. This capacity expansion is in large part due to the region’s established policies designed to stimulate CCUS market growth. Country-specific analysis reveals that the United States will be the primary policy driver of this acceleration, with Canada playing a secondary but important role. With around 80 projects planned for operation by 2030, the CO2 capture capacity in the US is expected to increase by nearly a factor of five, from over 20 Mt CO2 to over 100 Mt CO2 per year, more than 60% of North America’s expected growth.
Although not as drastically as in North America, Europe is also expecting capacity growth, from 2.5 Mt CO2 per year in 2023 to 95 Mt CO2 in 2030 – a nearly 40x increase in less than a decade.
Changes in the Fate of Carbon: High Hopes for Dedicated Storage
Rapid CCUS deployment over the next several years will be accompanied by changes in how the captured carbon is used, known as the “fate of carbon.” As of 2022, most of the captured CO2 was used in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), at 39.9 Mt CO2 per year. EOR is the process of extracting oil from an oil field that has already gone through the primary and secondary stages of oil recovery. In other words, the use of CO2 in EOR is a way to rejuvenate oil production at mature oil fields. This explains the fact that large oil producers have been the leading players developing CCUS capacity and the recent renewed interest from many of those same companies. Although CO2-EOR can produce “carbon negative” oil (depending on a variety of factors), it is often not considered a reliable decarbonization strategy. At the same time, the clear commercial value of additional oil production has driven CO2 use in EOR to be the earliest and primary fate of carbon.
Starting in 2023, this is predicted to change: As shown in the chart below, dedicated storage is set for a take-off as the biggest fate of carbon. By 2030, we expect that 426.5 Mt CO2 per year will be put into dedicated storage infrastructure around the world, which is more than a 38-fold increase over eight years. On the other hand, EOR is projected to experience a more modest 1.7x growth.
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Note: The second fastest growing fate of carbon is labeled “Unknown/Unspecified” because the IEA’s CCUS Database is based on publicly available information, and unfortunately many of the project announcements do not make the fate of carbon clear.
This projected growth in dedicated storage is encouraging. Since more CO2 needs to be sequestered than can be used, much of the captured CO2 needs to be permanently stored. This means that dedicated storage infrastructure is a prerequisite for carbon capture technologies to be deployed.
Many factors, both market- and policy-driven, are propelling the expansion of carbon storage. A growing number of companies, particularly in the manufacturing and energy sectors, are adopting net-zero targets that carve out a role for CCUS. Another factor is the growing proliferation of CCUS “hubs,” or clusters of infrastructure to capture, transport, store and/or use carbon. These hubs help to improve the economics of and therefore facilitate investments in CCUS projects. In the US, a slew of policy incentives, such as the 45Q tax credit passed in 2018 and those in the IRA and IIJA mentioned above, are boosting investments in CCUS projects. In the EU, the revenue from the Emissions Trading System began funding carbon capture, transportation, and storage projects from 2020.
The predicted growth of dedicated permanent storage infrastructure is welcome news from a climate perspective: According to the IEA, getting to net-zero emissions by 2050 requires that 95% of captured CO2 be permanently stored. There is more than enough geologic CO2 storage capacity globally to meet climate goals, and the technology for achieving this – such as pipelines for CO2 transportation, mechanisms for injecting, trapping, and monitoring CO2 underground – is well-established. Since CO2 transport and storage infrastructure needs to be operational before CO2 capture projects are developed, this projection is encouraging.
Barriers Remaining for Future CCUS Growth
More Policy Support is Needed to Boost Private Investment and Innovation in CCUS
Including all announced and planned CCUS projects in the IEA CCUS Database, the global CCUS capacity will reach 265.25 Mt CO2 per year by 2030. How does this projected increase compare to the amount of CO2 that needs to be sequestered to reach the IEA’s net-zero scenario?
Sadly, it falls far short of the target. According to the IEA, to stay aligned with its Net Zero by 2050, CCUS technologies need to capture 1.66 gigatons of CO2 (Gt CO2) per year by 2030 globally, and 7.6 Gt CO2 per year by 2050 to reach net-zero emissions. This means that current and planned capacity of CCUS projects expected in 2030 only accounts for less than 20% of the IEA’s target for 2030. The chart below puts this gap into perspective.
Hover over graph to interact
Given this gap, what more can governments and industry around the world do to rapidly scale up CCUS capacity to meet this target over the next decade? The IEA outlines four high-level priorities:
Creating the conditions that make private investment in CCUS more commercially attractive. Policymakers can achieve this by attaching value on CO2 emissions, providing funding support for capital and operating costs for early projects, and allocating risks across the public and private sectors.
Facilitate the development of CCUS hubs with shared CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. Identifying opportunities for CCUS deployment in specific industrial regions and establishing a business model for carbon transport and storage infrastructure, will go a long way toward this goal.
Identifying CO2 storage. The first step would be to characterize and assess geological CO2 storage around the world. The second is to establish a robust legal and regulatory framework around CO2 storage. Lastly, a concerted campaign to support public awareness will ensure that the general public understands and accepts CO2 storage technology.
Boosting innovation to reduce costs and increase the availability of critical technologies. This can be done through public-private partnerships in R&D and increased funding to revamp innovation in key CCUS applications (especially heavy industry, CO2 use for synthetic fuels, and carbon removal).
The policy support in North America, Europe and elsewhere mentioned above are instances of governments working toward meeting these priorities. But there are additional policy and technological developments that promise to accelerate growth faster than projected in this report.
The US Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed rules that would require power plants to capture or otherwise reduce their carbon emissions. Technological innovations are taking place in chemical absorption systems that can increase CO2 capture rate. The International CCS Knowledge Centre’s feasibility study found that retrofitting existing power plants with CCUS can be cost-competitive, suggesting that the barriers for power plant operators to build retrofit capture facilities may be lower than we assume today. All of these developments point toward the possibility of more rapid CCUS deployment than the IEA dataset projects.
Technologies to capture carbon from the atmosphere or from point sources are integral to the net zero roadmap. The key take-away is that the business case for CCUS is getting stronger each year as policymakers and investors support its development as a necessary climate solution. Yet, much more rapid deployment is necessary if we are to meet emissions targets to stabilize the climate by mid-century. As North America and Europe are set to experience accelerated growth in CCUS capacity, they may act as the catalysts for policymakers and project developers in other regions to also scale up their CCUS capabilities.
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