International collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS) is crucial to move the sector forward, delegates heard at the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) conference this week in London.
Co-operation on cross-border CO2 transport, specification, regulation and the linking of the EU and UK emissions trading systems (ETS) are aspects the industry must address to ensure its future, delegates heard. The common theme of the conference was a "more self-sustaining" CCS sector, said CCSA chief executive Olivia Powis.
CCS for emissions reduction remains a nascent industry, although one that has made strides over the past year. Several developers have taken final investment decisions (FID) on projects, mostly in northern Europe, and the first CO2 was stored at Norway's Northern Lights project in August. But the most advanced projects have benefited from extensive government funding, and are in countries with a strong geological advantage for CO2 storage. A Europe-wide CCS industry will need to link higher-emitting countries to those with suitable storage sites.
International co-operation is "vital", said Norwegian energy ministry assistant director-general Lars-Jakob Alveberg. And "opening the borders is crucial to developing viable business models", said Shell's CCS division business opportunity manager Els Jooris.
"We need to think about how we're going to do permitting across a border", Jooris said. Eni CCS senior advisor Phil Hemmens was clear on the need for an EU-UK agreement on CO2 storage, and said the company is looking to store European CO2 in its depleted UK Hewett gas field.
Several countries — largely in northwest Europe — have in place bilateral agreements for cross-border CO2 transport and storage.
Linking the EU and UK ETS would "hopefully… help with price stability" and cut CO2 transport costs, said UK regulator North Sea Transition Authority's head of exploration and new ventures Nick Richardson. EU and UK governments said in May they were working towards linking the ETS. But "ETS is a small part of the things we need to resolve", Richardson said.
The commercial foundation of CCS for emissions reduction is the rising cost of CO2 under an ETS, and a "green premium" for lower-carbon products, said cement producer Holcim's vice-president CCUS Roze Wesby. But speakers were clear that in early stages, projects need government support to move ahead.
Carbon removal credits linked to the facilities can be sold as an "initial project enabler", said CCS technology provider SLB Capturi's project director Solveig Oye Tveit.
"If it makes commercial sense, investors will come", Jooris said.
