Isra-Mart srl:Global CCS industry builds momentum with 21 new projects

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

21 new carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects got underway worldwide during 2010 despite soaring costs for the technology, a study released by Australia's Global CCS Institute today shows.

The study says 234 CCS projects were active or planned worldwide at the end of 2010, up from 213 at the end of 2009. 77 of these projects are fully integrated, large-scale projects demonstrating the complete CCS value chain.

John Hartwell, interim chief executive for the Institute, said that regulatory and legal frameworks for the technology continue to be proposed by governments in addition to these developments. "Looking ahead, the Institute anticipates that during 2011 a number of projects will have completed concept definition studies and be in a position to move to the next stage of development," he said.

Recently, the Gorgon CO2 Injection Project in Australia was given a green light, which will be the largest carbon storage project in the world when fully operational.

Meanwhile, an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) project in the United States, the world's first large-scale CO2 capture project in the power sector, has also just been given the go-ahead.

The amount of government funding allocated to individual projects also increased significantly in 2010, and now comes to $40bn in all, the majority of which is being put into 25 individual projects.

A further $2.4bn has been allocated by governments to expand research and development activities.

The overwhelming majority of CCS projects are in Europe and North America, and both continents are also starting to develop co-ordinated networks to sequester carbon underground.

Similarly, five large-scale plants are being developed in China, driven by major state-owned enterprises.

However, uncertain economic conditions in some countries, coupled with a 30 per cent rise in the estimated costs of constructing CCS plants, have led to some teething problems, and the report found that 22 large-scale projects were either delayed or cancelled in 2010.

Engagement with community stakeholders by governments and project leaders must be improved if further delays and cancellations are to be avoided, the study says.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), CCS will contribute 19 per cent of all emission reductions required by 2050.

In related news, the UK government's latest Carbon Plan confirmed that it will award up to £1bn in funding to the country's first CCS demonstration project before the end of this year.