• Employing CCS as an investment lever rather than just as a decarbonisation tool would unlock the technology’s full potential, say speakers

David Ghilotti, Upstream

CALGARY
Energiesnet.com 09 21 2023

Blue hydrogen will be the leading application driving deployment of carbon capture and storage technology, delegates heard at the 24th World Petroleum Congress on Wednesday.

As proponents of CCS face open questions related to scaling the technology and the sectors that are most suited to be first in deploying carbon sequestration infrastructure, speakers at the Congress said industries that offer a clear investment case and offer value generation would be preferred candidates.

“It will be industries that generate value that will go first [in adopting CCS],” said Rayad Alharbi, senior specialist at the Saudi Ministry of Energy, adding that blue hydrogen – hydrogen produced from natural gas with CCS – will be the leading target application in the first wave of carbon capture market growth.

“Blue hydrogen will be the first to take on CCS. Other [industries] will join subsequently based on the value [proposition] of those projects,” he said, at the Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Others also see the hydrogen sector as a prime target for CCS infrastructure.

According to Peter Findlay, CCUS director at consultancy Wood Mackenzie, blue hydrogen will become the “dominant industry source” for CCS by 2033.

Wood Mackenzie forecasts total capture capacity will rise more than seven-fold to 370 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide in the next decade, from less than 50 million tpa in 2022. The largest portion of this would originate from gas-powered hydrogen production sites.

The ramp-up in that timeframe would require investments worth $150 billion, Findlay said at WPC.

According to Alharbi, CCS is now seen primarily as a method to reduce emissions in industry, but this perspective limits its potential to drive growth in new businesses including hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

“If we’re keeping CCS only as a decarbonisation tool, we’re not unlocking the full potential of the technology [as] enabler of new energy vectors, such as hydrogen.

“Now CCS is seen as a decarbonisation lever; in the future it will be an investment opportunity,” he said.

upstreamonline.com 09 21 2023