- •Putting CO2 to Use
- •Abstract
- •Highlights
- •Executive summary
- •CO2 is a valuable commodity
- •Early markets are emerging but the future scale of CO2 use is uncertain
- •Using CO2 can support climate goals, but with caveats
- •Cultivating early opportunities while planning for the long term
- •Findings and recommendations
- •Millions of tonnes of CO2 are being used today
- •New pathways for CO2 are generating global interest
- •CO2 use can contribute to climate goals, but with caveats
- •The future scale of CO2 use is highly uncertain
- •Where are the emerging market opportunities?
- •1. CO2-derived fuels
- •2. CO2-derived chemicals
- •3. Building materials from minerals and CO2
- •4. Building materials from waste and CO2
- •5. Crop yield boosting with CO2
- •CO2 use can complement CO2 storage, but is not an alternative
- •References
- •Policy recommendations
- •Technical analysis
- •Introduction
- •Setting the scene
- •What is CO2 use?
- •CO2-derived fuels
- •CO2-derived chemicals
- •CO2-derived building materials
- •Where is CO2 being used today?
- •What has spurred renewed interest in CO2 use?
- •Who is currently investing in CO2 use, and why?
- •How can CO2-derived products and services deliver climate benefits?
- •Understanding the future market for CO2-derived products and services
- •Which factors influence the future market?
- •Scalability
- •Competitiveness
- •The price and availability of hydrogen
- •The price and availability of CO2
- •Climate benefits
- •Origin of the CO2
- •Displaced product or service (reference system)
- •Energy input
- •Retention time of carbon in the product
- •Is it possible to assess the future market size?
- •Scaling up the market
- •CO2-derived fuels
- •What are CO2-derived fuels?
- •Are CO2-derived fuels scalable?
- •Under what conditions would CO2-derived fuels be competitive?
- •Can CO2-derived fuels deliver climate benefits?
- •What are the regulatory requirements?
- •CO2-derived chemicals
- •What are CO2-derived chemicals?
- •Are CO2-derived chemicals scalable?
- •Under what conditions would CO2-derived chemicals be competitive?
- •Can CO2-derived chemicals deliver climate benefits?
- •What are the regulatory requirements?
- •CO2-derived building materials from natural minerals
- •What are CO2-derived building materials?
- •Are CO2-derived building materials scalable?
- •Under what conditions would CO2-derived building materials be competitive?
- •Can CO2-derived building materials deliver climate benefits?
- •What are the regulatory requirements?
- •CO2-derived building materials from waste
- •What are building materials made from waste?
- •Are building materials from waste scalable?
- •Under what conditions are building materials from waste competitive?
- •Can building materials from waste deliver climate benefits?
- •What are the regulatory requirements?
- •CO2 use to enhance the yield of biological processes
- •What is yield boosting?
- •Is CO2 yield boosting scalable?
- •Under what conditions is CO2 yield boosting competitive?
- •Can CO2 yield boosting deliver climate benefits?
- •What are the regulatory requirements?
- •Where are suitable locations for an early market?
- •Implications for policy
- •Public procurement
- •Mandates
- •Economic incentives
- •Labelling, certification and testing
- •Research development and demonstration
- •Recommendations
- •References
- •General annex
- •Abbreviations and acronyms
- •Acknowledgements
- •Table of contents
- •List of figures
- •List of boxes
- •List of tables
Putting CO2 to Use: Creating Value from Emissions |
Technical analysis |
General annex
Abbreviations and acronyms
APC |
air pollution control |
ARRA |
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act |
BEIS |
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy |
CCS |
carbon capture and storage |
CCU |
carbon capture and utilisation |
CCUS |
carbon capture, utilisation and storage |
CO |
carbon monoxide |
CO2 |
carbon dioxide |
CRI |
Carbon Recycling International |
CTS |
Clean Technology Scenario |
DAC |
direct air capture |
DOE |
Department of Energy |
EC |
European Commission |
EOR |
enhanced oil recovery |
ETC |
Energy Transitions Commission |
ETP |
Energy Technology Perspectives |
EU ETS |
European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme |
FT |
Fischer-Tropsch process (methanol synthesis) |
GDP |
gross domestic product |
GHG |
greenhouse gas |
IPCC |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
ISO |
International Organisation for Standardisation |
LCA |
life-cycle assessment |
METI |
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry |
MRV |
measurement, reporting and verification |
MOST |
Ministry of Science and Technology |
NASEM |
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine |
NETL |
National Energy Technology Laboratory |
PCC |
precipitate calcium carbonate |
PV |
photovoltaic |
R&D |
research and development |
RD&D |
research, development and demonstration |
RED II |
Renewable Energy Directive |
RTS |
Reference Technology Scenario |
SMR |
steam methane reforming |
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Putting CO2 to Use: Creating Value from Emissions |
Technical analysis |
Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by the Directorate of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks under the direction of Mechthild Wörsdörfer, in co-operation with other directorates and offices of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The lead author is Niels Berghout. Samantha McCulloch, head of the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Technology Unit contributed significant input and guidance. The report benefited from valuable inputs and comments from other experts within the IEA, including Simon Bennett, Thomas Berly, Herib Blanco, Araceli Fernandez Pales, Nick Johnstone, Peter Levi, Raimund Malischek, Cédric Philibert, Uwe Remme, Andreas Schröder, Tristan Stanley, Dave Turk, Laszlo Varro, and Tiffany Vass. Marina Dos Santos provided essential support. Important external contributions were provided by Paul Zakkour (Carbon Counts), in particular on the CO2 conversion technologies and their climate benefits.
Barbara Zatlokal carries editorial responsibility. The IEA Communications and Digital Office assisted and contributed to the production of the final report and website materials, particularly Tom Allen-Olivar, Astrid Dumond, Robert Stone, Sabrina Tan, and Therese Walsh.
Several experts from outside the IEA were consulted during the data and information collection process and reviewed the report. Their contributions were of great value. Those experts include: Katy Armstrong (University of Sheffield), Alexis Bazzanella (Dechema), Dominique Copin (Total), Kathryn Gagnon (Canadian Department of Natural Resources [NRCan]), Jasmin Kemper (IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme), Will Lochhead (United Kingdom’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy [BEIS]), Niall Mac Dowell (Imperial College), Carmine Marzano (European Commission), Sean McCoy (University of Calgary), David Nevicato (Total), Luis Robles (Total), Paul Zakkour (Carbon Counts), Xian Zhang (China’s Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST], Ping Zhong, (China’s Ministry of Science and Technology [MOST].
The IEA gratefully acknowledges Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for their support of this work.
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IEA. All rights reserved.