2. The role of CCUS in clean energy pathways

2. The role of CCUS in clean energy pathways

CCUS deployment today

Many applications of CCUS are not new or untested and global experience with industrial-scale CCUS facilities is growing. The capture and separation of CO2 has been applied in industry for many decades and is an inherent part of some industrial processes, while the practice of injecting CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) first commenced in the 1970s. Today, there are 18 large-scale, integrated projects operating across various applications globally, including coal-fired power generation, natural gas processing, steel manufacture, fertiliser production and oil sands upgrading. Collectively, these projects are capturing around 33 million tonnes (Mt) of CO2 each year.

Around two-thirds, or 12, of the operating CCUS projects are located in Canada and the United States, with all but one of these projects benefiting from a revenue stream for the captured CO2 for use in EOR. For some early projects, the revenue from CO2-EOR was sufficient for commercial CCUS operation, while more recently EOR revenue combined with capital grants has helped to close the commercial gap and support investment. CO2-EOR opportunities are expected to remain a major factor for early CCUS deployment, with growing global interest, including in the Middle East and China.

Figure 10. Investment pipeline for large-scale CCUS projects

Source: IEA analysis based on Global CCS Institute (2019), Facilities Database, https://co2re.co/FacilityData.

The pipeline of large-scale CCUS projects has been shrinking since 2010, but is showing signs of recovery.