"China Regional Carbon Dioxide Geological Storage Economic Feasibility Study" (2024 Annual Report) Released

 

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), as a large-scale greenhouse gas emission reduction technology, is not only the sole technological choice for the low-carbon utilization of fossil energy in China, a primary technological means to maintain the flexibility of the power system, but also a feasible technological solution for deep decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement. It is an indispensable important technological choice to support the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. On November 15, 2023, China and the United States jointly issued the "Sunshine Country Statement on Strengthening Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis," which explicitly proposed that "both countries strive to advance at least five large-scale cooperation projects in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in industrial and energy fields by 2030." The study on the selection of CCUS storage sites is an important scientific support to implement this requirement, and assessing the potential of geological carbon storage is crucial for improving the feasibility and economic viability of projects.

The "China Regional Carbon Dioxide Geological Storage Economic Feasibility Study — China Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Annual Report (2024)" is based on national and local policy requirements, fully considering future carbon prices and environmental constraints of geological carbon storage, with the goal of achieving the minimum cost (including costs of capture, transportation, storage, etc.). It evaluates the economic feasibility of geological carbon storage for each 10×10 km grid in China under two scenarios of low-speed (slow development of CCUS technology, stable growth in carbon prices) and enhanced (rapid development of CCUS technology, rapid increase in carbon prices) development from 2035 to 2060 (online data platform: https://ccus.cityghg.com/). The focus is on addressing whether each grid in China can achieve significant carbon emission reductions through geological carbon storage under given constraints. The research results can provide decision support for national and regional-level key industrial source transformation and industrial spatial layout, and also offer scientific reference for the optimization of CCUS source-sink pathways and the construction layout of transportation pipelines.

As the main convening institution of the report, CAEP has successively released a series of CCUS research reports since 2019, including the "China Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Status Report (2019)" and the "China Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Annual Report (2021) — China's CCUS Path Study," covering special research topics such as the current status of CCUS projects in China, path studies, and emission reduction potential. This research report is completed based on previous research foundations, combined with the diverse needs for CCUS technology under regional development planning in the context of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and is the result of the collective wisdom of 18 CCUS researchers and 16 authoritative review experts. Next, our institute will continue to work closely with experts in relevant fields to promote the important role of CCUS technology in the practice of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.