Carbon capture and storage play an important role in achieving set climate goals. However, major efforts are required to ensure that this technology is widely applied, according to three researchers in a new SNS report.
Carbon capture and storage technologies have not yet been applied on a large scale. There are several explanations for this, write researchers Filip Johnsson, Kenneth Möllersten and Lars Zetterberg in the SNS report Towards net-zero emissions – how can carbon dioxide capture and storage contribute?
“The EU emissions trading system represents an important instrument in this context. However, the prices of emission allowances used to be so low that there were hardly any financial incentives for investing in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. And when it comes to the variety of this technology that may be used in the production of electricity and heating by using bioenergy (BECCS), there are no policy instruments whatsoever at this time,” says Filip Johnsson, professor of energy technology at Chalmers University of Technology.
Other factors, according to the researchers, include high start-up costs, coordination needs related to infrastructure and the risk of a lack of credibility in the climate efforts. In order for initiatives related to CCS and BECCS to be credible, a strong climate policy is needed that clearly communicates that these technologies complement rather than replace ambitious efforts to phase out fossil fuels.
“Initially, government support may be important to create the proper conditions for carbon capture and storage. In the long term, however, other forms of funding are needed – partly to reduce the costs for the state and partly to ensure that this technology is applied more widely,” says Kenneth Möllersten, researcher at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
At that stage, according to the researchers, not only the EU emissions trading system but also international trade in negative emissions could play an important role.
“We also imagine a special system for sectors having a hard time in terms of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, such as the waste, agriculture, aviation and transport sectors. Under such a scheme, they would have to buy some kind of BECCS credits corresponding to a portion of the emissions they generate,” says Lars Zetterberg, researcher at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
Countries with zero emissions targets could also buy BECCS credits from other countries in order to offset their emissions, the researchers argue. They also believe that regardless of which policy instrument is used, it is important to realize that biomass is a finite resource and to promote recycling by means of circular systems. Hence, according to the researchers, municipal waste companies should not invest in CCS plants until analyses have been performed as to whether they may instead further develop their plastic recycling operations and become part of a recycling refinery system.
about the project
The report Towards net-zero emissions – how can carbon dioxide capture and storage contribute? is part of the research project The Green Transition and the Business Sector, which highlights how Swedish companies are affected by stricter climate policies and how regulations and policy instruments may be designed to benefit the climate transition. The project focuses on everything from investment needs and institutional conditions to conflicting goals and vulnerabilities in production chains. The goal is to contribute with knowledge and data used to design future measures. The project timeframe is 2023–2025.
about the authors
Filip Johnsson is a professor of energy technology, space, earth and environment at the Chalmers University of Technology.
Kenneth Möllersten is a researcher at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology.
Lars Zetterberg is a researcher at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.