Controlling Carbon Emissions. The Option of Carbon Sequestration.

Abstract not availableJRC.F-Institute for Energy (Petten

The Cost of Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration Projects in Europe

The acceleration of development and the demonstration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are one of the key objectives of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) of the European Union, which aims at enabling the rapid transition to a low-carbon economy. A critical element for the commercialisation of CCS is the construction and operation of up to 12 coal-fired CCS demonstration plants. The cost of this demonstration programme has been estimated to be between 8.5 and 13 billion Euros. This cost has been estimated assuming the size and composition of the fleet of the CCS demonstration plants and by calculating, based on a cash flow analysis, their additional discounted lifetime costs. The calculations presented in this report show that the additional costs for a 400 MW plant range between 680 million Euros for coal-plants and 550 Euros for gas plants. Assuming a CO2 price as in the scenarios developed for the second European Strategic Energy Review, the additional revenue required for making these demonstration plants competitive in the electricity market are 46 Euros for coal plants and 77 Euros for gas plants per tonne of CO2 avoided. These calculations are very sensitive to the assumptions made with regards to the capital costs, the costs of CO2 transport and storage, fuel and CO2 prices and the discount rate. These additional costs have been estimated using reference values for the cost of the CO2 capture technologies (pre- and post-combustion and oxyfuel), which have stemmed from an extensive assessment of literature sources using a transparent methodology, which alleviates to a significant extent the confusion about the economics of CCS technologies.JRC.DG.F.7-Energy systems evaluatio

A Large Scale Test Facility for the Production of Hydrogen and Electricity - The Hypogen Project: a JRC-Setris Perspective

The HYPOGEN (HYdrogen POwer GENeration) project refers to a large-scale test facility for the co-production of hydrogen and electricity. HYPOGEN will be a clean fossil fuel design in which the CO2 will be captured and stored. Although this facility will be used to demonstrate the technology, it is emphasised that the design should be able to vary the ratio of hydrogen to electricity for commercial plants to be economic. The HYPOGEN concept will engender much interest from industry and the public, as an integral aspect in the development of a hydrogen-based energy economy in Europe.JRC.F.2-Cleaner energie

Technologies for Coal based Hydrogen and Electricity Co-production Power Plants with CO2 Capture

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants allow the combination of the production of hydrogen and electricity because coal gasification process produces a syngas that can be used for the production of both commodities. A hydrogen and electricity power plant has been denominated as HYPOGEN. This report starts by reviewing the basics of the coal gasification process and continues by trying to map all the technological options currently available in the market as well as possible future trends that can be included in a HYPOGEN system . Besides, it offers an overview of the operating conditions and outputs of each process in order to provide the modeller with a useful information tool enabling an easier analysis of compatibilities and implementation of the model.JRC.F.7-Energy systems evaluatio

Techno-economic and environmental evaluation of CO2 utilisation for fuel production. Synthesis of methanol and formic acid

The present report assesses the technological, economic and environmental performances for producing methanol and formic acid from carbon dioxide. Methanol and formic acid are well known chemicals that can be used in the future transport sector and as hydrogen carriers. This study evaluates the potential of methanol and formic acid synthesis from captured CO2 on (i) the net reduction of CO2 emissions and (ii) their economic competitiveness, in comparison with the benchmark conventional synthesis processes using fossil fuels as raw materials. We use a process system engineering approach to calculate the technological, economic and environmental key performance indicators. The boundaries of the study are set gate-to-gate the carbon dioxide utilisation (CDU) plant: this includes hydrogen production via an electrolyser, CO2 purification, CO2 compression and the CDU plant itself. The technologies are represented at the commercial scale of the existing fossil fuel plants. Through a financial analysis, the net present value for each one of the plants is used to evaluate the price of CO2 as raw material or the price of methanol and formic acid as products that would be needed to make the CO2-based processes financially attractive. In our market analysis (by year 2030), we evaluate the possible penetration ways of methanol and formic acid, thus accepting a growing demand of both products. Overall, depending on the specific conditions of each case: source of feedstock CO2, source of H2 and/or source of electricity, amount of electricity needed and price of electricity, price of the product; the CDU plant may be directly profitable and contribute at different levels to decrease CO2 emissions. The capacity of the CDU plant depends on the available renewable electricity that is used to power it, rather than on the demand of the product. Under specific conditions, the business model becomes feasible.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Carbon Dioxide in the European Energy System

Enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (CO2-EOR) is a method that can increase oil production beyond what is typically achievable using conventional recovery methods by injecting, and hence storing, carbon dioxide (CO2) in the oil reservoir. This report indicates that the maximum technical potential for increased oil recovery is significant while the CO2 storage capacity is relatively small. A detailed economic analysis suggests that at the oil rpcies of today and with a financial incentive for CO2 storage, a number of CO2-EOR operations could be viable in the North Sea. These projects can contribute to the improvement of the European security of supply by increasing indigenous oil production, and assist in the reduction of GHG emissions and catalyse the development of decarbonised energy conversion technologies by providing the means for safe and permanent storage of CO2.JRC.F.2-Cleaner energie

Technical and Economic Characteristics of a CO2 Transmission Pipeline Infrastructure

Carbon capture and storage is considered one of the most promising technological options for the mitigation of CO2 emissions from the power generation sector and other carbon-intensive industries that can bridge the transition period between the current fossil fuel-based economy and the renewable and sustainable technology era. CCS involves the capture of CO2 from the sources, the transport CO2 through dedicated pipelines and ships, and the storage of CO2 in geological reservoirs, such as depleted oil and gas fields and saline aquifers, for its permanent isolation from the atmosphere. The development of CCS technologies has increased significantly in the last decades; however, there are still major gaps in knowledge of the cost of capture, transport and storage processes. Pipelines have been identified as the primary means of transporting CO2 from point-of-capture to site where it will be stored permanently but there is little published work on the economics of CO2 pipeline transport and most cost studies either exclude transport costs or assume a given cost per tonne of CO2 in addition to capture costs. The aim of this report is to identify the elements that comprise a CO2 pipeline network, provide an overview of equipment selection and design specific to the processes undertaken for the CO2 transport and to identify the costs of designing and constructing a CO2 transmission pipeline infrastructure.JRC.DDG.F.7-Energy systems evaluatio

The Evolution of the Extent and the Investment Requirements of a Trans-European CO2 Transport Network

The large scale deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Europe will require the development of new infrastructure to transport, using pipelines and ships, the captured CO2 from its sources (e.g. power plants) to the appropriate CO2 storage sites. This report describes the potential evolution of the CO2 transport network on the European scale for the period 2015 ¿ 2050, in terms of physical size and capital cost requirements. These estimates have been made based on an innovative and sound methodology. The results however depend strongly on the assumptions that have been made, especially in view of the long term horizon of the analysis, the uncertainty of CCS deployment rates and timelines, the lack of robust data on CO2 storage sites and the variability of pipeline construction costs. The size of the network grows steadily until 2030, to 8800 km, requiring around 9 billion euros of cumulative investment; followed by a step-change towards 2050, leading to a total investment of around 29 billion euros. This is based on a relatively conservative scenario of CCS deployment, as the amount of CO2 captured in 2050 does not meet the ambition for the decarbonisation of the European society by 2050. Scenarios compatible with the European vision for a decarbonised society by 2050, which will necessitate the capture of almost all CO2 emissions from both the power and the industrial sectors, would obviously be associated with a more extensive and hence more expensive CO2 transport network. By 2030, 16 EU Member States may be involved in cross-border CO2 transport. International coordination is therefore crucial for the development of an optimised trans-European CO2 transport network.JRC.DDG.F.7-Energy systems evaluatio

Critical Metals in Strategic Energy Technologies - Assessing Rare Metals as Supply-Chain Bottlenecks in Low-Carbon Energy Technologies

Due to the rapid growth in demand for certain materials, compounded by political risks associated with the geographical concentration of the supply of them, a shortage of these materials could be a potential bottleneck to the deployment of low-carbon energy technologies. In order to assess whether such shortages could jeopardise the objectives of the EU’s Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), an improved understanding of these risks is vital. In particular, this report examines the use of metals in the six low-carbon energy technologies of SET-Plan, namely: nuclear, solar, wind, bioenergy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electricity grids. The study looks at the average annual demand for each metal for the deployment of the technologies in Europe between 2020 and 2030. The demand of each metal is compared to the respective global production volume in 2010. This ratio (expressed as a percentage) allows comparing the relative stress that the deployment of the six technologies in Europe is expected to create on the global supplies for these different metals. The study identifies 14 metals for which the deployment of the six technologies will require 1% or more (and in some cases, much more) of current world supply per annum between 2020 and 2030. These 14 significant metals, in order of decreasing demand, are tellurium, indium, tin, hafnium, silver, dysprosium, gallium, neodymium, cadmium, nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, niobium and selenium. The metals are examined further in terms of the risks of meeting the anticipated demand by analysing in detail the likelihood of rapid future global demand growth, limitations to expanding supply in the short to medium term, and the concentration of supply and political risks associated with key suppliers. The report pinpoints 5 of the 14 metals to be at high risk, namely: the rare earth metals neodymium and dysprosium, and the by-products (from base metals) indium, tellurium and gallium. The report explores a set of potential mitigation strategies, ranging from expanding European output, increasing recycling and reuse to reducing waste and finding substitutes for these metals in their main applications. A number of recommendations are provided which include: • ensuring that materials used in significant quantities are included in the Raw Materials Yearbook proposed by the Raw Materials Initiative ad hoc Working Group, • the publication of regular studies on supply and demand for critical metals, • efforts to ensure reliable supply of ore concentrates at competitive prices, • promoting R&D and demonstration projects on new lower cost separation processes, particularly those from by-product or tailings containing rare earths, • collaborating with other countries/regions with a shared agenda of risk reduction, • raising awareness and engaging in an active dialogue with zinc, copper and aluminium refiners over by-product recovery, • creating incentives to encourage by-product recovery in zinc, copper and aluminium refining in Europe, • promoting the further development of recycling technologies and increasing end-of-life collection, • measures for the implementation of the revised WEEE Directive, and • investing broadly in alternative technologies. It is also recommended that a similar study should be carried out to identify the metal requirements and associated bottlenecks in other green technologies, such as electric vehicles, low-carbon lighting, electricity storage and fuel cells and hydrogen.JRC.F.7-Energy systems evaluatio

Hydrogen Storage: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspective.

Abstract not availableJRC.F-Institute for Energy (Petten