Carbon capture and storage explained
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology that can capture up to 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced from the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial processes, preventing the carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, and storing it permanently underground.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the few technological solutions that can contribute to a significant reduction in emissions from industrial operations based on coal or gas power, keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere that would otherwise worsen climate change.
CCS will be crucial for decarbonising industries such as cement and steel where production itself results in large CO2 emissions, as well as other industries.
The International Energy Agency says that we need to store billions of tonnes of CO2 every year to reach the UN climate goals. It’s also one of the key measures that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regards as necessary to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. CCS is recognised as an important, proven technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions around the world.
CCS involves three major steps; capturing CO2 at the source, compressing it for transportation and then injecting it deep into a rock formation at a carefully selected and safe site, where it is permanently stored.
Capture: The separation of CO2 from other gases produced at large industrial process facilities such as coal and natural-gas-fired power plants, steel mills, cement plants and refineries.
Transport: Once separated, the CO2 is compressed and transported via pipelines, trucks, ships or other methods to a suitable site for geological storage.
Storage: CO2 is injected into deep underground rock formations, usually at depths of one kilometre or more.
Energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas is released in the combustion (burning) and conversion process, which also results in the emission of CO2 as a by-product. CO2 is also a by-product of the production and purification of natural gas.
There are three basic types of CO2 capture: pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxyfuel with post-combustion.
For more information, see Global CCS Institute.
Equinor has been developing technology to make this possible for more than 20 years, and we are a part of more than 40 research projects on carbon capture and storage.
The seabed off the coast of Norway is well suited to storing CO2, and we can potentially store the equivalent of a 1000 years of Norwegian emissions under the North Sea.