China's interest in carbon capture and storage scheme grows

A lack of early-stage proposals for carbon capture and storage schemes could hamper the rate of uptake of the technology, a key tool for radically reducing industrial emissions.

The number of carbon capture and storage (CCS) schemes doubled in 2014 to 22 globally - 13 in operation and nine in construction - with another 14 projects in advanced planning and 18 in early development, says Brad Page, chief executive of the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

"While we are seeing projects that should reach the stage of making a financial investment decision in the next 12 months, what we're not seeing is projects coming in at the bottom of the process . . . The pipeline is not full," says Mr Page.

A difficult financial climate and uncertainty about global commitment to addressing climate change have slowed the pipeline of projects after a significant increase in 2014.

CCS schemes, which capture carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning fossil fuels and store them deep underground, are often found in the power sector but are starting to make headway in other heavy emitting sectors, such as steel and cement.

The world's first CCS in iron and steel, backed by a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is expected to come online in 2016 in the emirate.

Mr Page says there has also been a lot of interest concerning cement, but no projects are confirmed.

"Without CCS, the cost to avoid a global warming of more than two degrees Celsius would more than double [rising] by 138 per cent," he says.

The US and Canada are leading the world in developing CCS, and are home to the bulk of operational schemes. China and the UK also plan significant projects. "Three and a half years ago, China did not rate a mention in our annual report. In 2014, they've hit number two in the world," says Mr Page. " . . . They are not climate change deniers."

At Boundary Dam, Canada's groundbreaking CCS coal power plant scheme, SaskPower executives attest to the level of Chinese interest.

"We have a Chinese delegation here every two or three weeks," says Mike Monea, president of CCS initiatives at SaskPower, a Canadian utility. "They're watching what's happening at Boundary and learning from us. China is just gathering information right now. When it moves, it will be significant. I think that's where the next projects of size and number will be happening."

The Boundary scheme, the world's first commercial-scale CCS on a coal power plant, has captured an estimated 200,000 tonnes of CO2 since it opened in October last year.

The captured emissions travel down a 66km pipeline to either an enhanced oil recovery facility for the oilfields, or a saline reservoir 3.2km below the earth's crust for permanent storage.

The company will make a decision in the next 12 months on building two more CCS schemes.

With the engineering experience gained from the first scheme, costs would be reduced by 30 per cent.

Mr Monea says: "We've got all the expertise of building a carbon capture plant - but nobody wants to build one, unless they're forced to".

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