Carbon capture tech is promising, but investment is key to innovation that lowers costs, incentivizing broad corporate and international adoption.

---Pretty nutty advantage CPs in here if CCS ends up in an aff

FutureBridge 23, [FutureBridge Net Zero Events (Future Bridge organizes industry-tailored B2B online conferences and virtual summits focused on sustainability-oriented innovation, lowering emissions without compromising efficiency, assisting with energy transition initiatives, embracing the digital era, and developing a green value chain.), “Can Innovation Drive Down the Costs of Carbon Capture?” , accessed 6-27-2024, 11/20/2023] Mr.Mr.

Carbon capture technology holds great promise as a tool. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries. These include oi1nl and gas, cement, and steel production. However, the high costs of capturing, transporting, and storing CO2 have hindered the wide-scale adoption of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). For CCUS to play a meaningful role in achieving global climate goals, transformative innovation is needed to dramatically lower costs.

The Need for Carbon Capture

CCUS offers a critical pathway for limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, as targeted by the Paris Agreement. In the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario, in which global CO2 emissions from the energy sector fall to zero on a net basis by 2070, CCUS accounts for nearly 15% of the cumulative reduction in emissions compared with the Stated Policies Scenario.

The contribution of CCUS grows over time as the technology improves, costs fall and cheaper abatement options in some sectors are exhausted. However, CCUS deployment remains far below the levels needed due to prohibitively high costs.

Talking about how much does a carbon cost plant cost to build? the capital costs to build a carbon capture facility typically range from $100 million to over $1 billion. This is with total costs estimated at $50-100+ per ton of CO2 abated. This includes capital, operating, and transportation/storage costs.

Key Challenges Facing Carbon Capture

Carbon capture involves separating CO2 from industrial flue gases or directly from the atmosphere, transporting it via pipeline or ship, and depositing it in secure geological storage sites. Currently, the three main challenges facing the cost of carbon capture are:

High Capital Costs

Building carbon capture facilities requires major upfront capital investment. It comes with costs ranging from $500–1000 per ton of CO2 capture capacity. Moreover, the absorption technology predominantly used for CO2 separation also consumes a significant amount of energy. As a result, it further drives up costs.

Lack of Infrastructure

There is limited infrastructure for transporting and storing captured CO2. So, building out pipelines, ships, and geological storage sites will require major public/private investment. Additionally, most storage sites are not conveniently located near major CO2 emitters.

Insufficient Incentives

Putting a meaningful price on carbon via taxes or cap-and-trade schemes could make CCUS more cost-competitive. Market incentives are insufficient to spur widespread CCUS adoption. This is at the levels needed to meet global climate goals.

Breakthroughs Needed in Capture Materials and Processes

To overcome these challenges, significant technology innovation and cost reductions are needed across the entire CCUS chain. So, here are some of the most promising areas for innovation in CO2 capture specifically: