Carbon capture and storage technology is taking the world by storm

The growing pressure to meet climate policy commitments has sparked a boom in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies
.

As the world continues to be addicted to fossil fuels, CCS technology could provide the net-zero solution that governments have been looking for
.
Several national governments have established strategies and funds to increase the number of CCS projects in the coming decades, aiming to decarbonize their economies
.

Growing pressure from the International Energy Agency and expectations built by global players after last year’s COP26 climate summit have prompted oil and gas companies to introduce a slew of carbon-cutting technologies to achieve cleaner oil and natural gas production
.
Governments around the world are now investing heavily in carbon reduction and storage technologies to ensure that their economies are decarbonized for decades to come, in line with Paris Agreement commitments
.
As the world continues to be addicted to fossil fuels, CCS technology can provide the net-zero emissions solution governments have been looking for to meet climate policy promises
.
By 2021, all CCS facilities in operation or under construction will have a CO2 capture capacity of approximately 40 million tonnes per year
.
By 2030, currently announced operations will raise that figure to 190 million tonnes of CO2 per year
.
Although global carbon dioxide capture capacity is forecast to be between 350 and 1.
7 billion tons by 2030, the main disadvantage of applying CCS technology to oil and gas extraction so far has been the increased cost
.
However, if a carbon tax is introduced, it is likely to encourage companies to use CCS equipment in their operations
.

Dutch multinational banking and financial services company ING believes that CCS technology will be an important tool for reducing carbon emissions, as some countries around the world are expected to continue to rely on fossil fuels by mid-century
.
However, because CCS technology is still in the early stages of development, governments will have to incentivize energy companies to use CCS technology by incorporating it into climate policy, subsidizing equipment costs, offering tax breaks or other carbon capture incentives
.
 

To this end, the UK established the Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Fund (CIF) in 2020 with a budget of nearly $1.
2 billion
.
The UK government believes that carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), along with hydrogen, will be critical to delivering on the UK's climate commitments
.
As part of the plan, the UK government wants to build at least two CCUS clusters by the mid-2020s and four by 2030, with a view to capturing 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by the end of 2030
.
 

In the United States, the U.
S.
Department of Energy (DoE) announced a notice of intent to invest $2.
25 billion to increase the number of carbon storage projects nationwide, funded by the U.
S.
Infrastructure Act
.
Each carbon storage project will have the capacity to store at least 50 million tonnes of captured carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of 10 million internal combustion engine vehicles
.

The U.
S.
Department of Energy also plans to spend $91 million to advance key carbon management technologies
.
The plan supports the U.
S.
goal of achieving a net-zero economy by 2050
.

Meanwhile, the Australian government has announced a $170 million plan to boost CCUS operations in the country
.
The Australian Government's strategy aims to encourage domestic and international research collaborations and reduce the cost of technology adoption
.
The CCUS Centre and Technology Program supports the government's technology investment roadmap, aimed at lowering the price of CO2 compression, transport and storage to encourage more uptake
.

In July, the Australian company AspiraDAC announced a new CCS technology, showing that Australia is rapidly catching up with its European and North American counterparts
.
The tent-sized solar-powered machine uses Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology
.
AspiraDAC has signed a $700,000 contract and expects to roll out 180 solar-powered machines by 2027 to capture and store 500 tons of carbon dioxide at a cost of $1,000 per ton
.

Environmental groups are calling for a more cohesive approach to carbon capture in Europe
.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it very clear that some industries will have to incorporate CCS technology into their operations if we want to reduce carbon emissions to levels where global warming does not exceed 1.
5°C by 2100
.

The European Commission has included CCS in its Fit For 55 climate proposal and launched the CCUS Forum last year
.
However, The Climate Group believes that a more strategic policy framework at EU level is needed if countries are to achieve their CCS targets
.
There are currently 50 CCS projects underway, many of which require the transport and storage of carbon dioxide across borders
.
 

Several governments around the world have established strategies and funds to increase the number of CCS projects in the coming decades, aiming to decarbonize their economies
.
However, the world's political powers must now consider a regional CCS approach to ensure that their efforts are cohesive and that CO2 can be efficiently transported and stored in the right places and across national borders when necessary
.