Economic Potential of DACCS and Global CCS Progress
[9]
MEASURING GLOBAL CCS CAPACITY BY CAPTURE CAPACITY
In prior years, most CCS projects were full-value chain. This means they
tended to incorporate a single CO2 capture plant with its own dedicated CO2
compression, transport (usually pipeline) and storage systems. This meant that
when describing the CO2 flow capacity (in tonnes per year) of these systems,
the capacity of the capture plant, transport and storage systems were all
aligned and operating as a single integrated system.
Today, CCS networks are becoming the predominant method of CCS
deployment. CCS networks involve the use of shared transport and storage
infrastructure. Some CCS-related developments, such as shipping projects,
pipelines, or new storage facilities, do not involve CO2 capture at all, and
handle CO2 captured by third parties.
If the CO2 flow capacities of these non-capture sites were counted in our
statistics, there would potentially be a double-counting of global CCS capacity,
as CO2 capacity would have already been included in our figures for capture
plants upstream.
To avoid this problem, and ensure compatibility with our historical capacity
statistics, only CO2 capture capacity will be included when determining global
CCS system capacity (Mtpa). This is why project pipeline charts and figures
now explicitly refer to 'by capture capacity', a change from the earlier title
"Capacity of CCS facilities".
Dedicated transport and/or storage projects will still be counted in total facility
numbers, but will not contribute to global CCS system capacity. Facility counts
can be somewhat arbitrary depending upon where the boundaries between
transport and storage facilities in networks are drawn. Therefore, total system
capacity is a better guide to the growth of the CCS sector than facility counts.
NOTE ON THE CHANGE TO THE INTERPRETATION OF CAPACITY TONNAGES
IN 2022
Historically, Global Status of CCS reports have reported tonnage in millions of
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) based on the mean of the proponent-reported range
of plant capacities. For example, if a proponent said it was targeting 1-1.3
Mtpa for its project, our reports have stated this as 1.15 Mtpa.
For projects in the Early Development stage, such ranges are often provided
because there is uncertainty about the final specifications for the project.
However, as projects progress to later stages and to construction, design
capacities are typically locked into a single design capacity figure. This can
make these ranges misleading, especially if the lower-end estimate is carried
over from earlier project stages. The effect has been an overall understatement
of CO2 capture capacity for the sector as a whole.
Beginning with this report, design capacities (upper end of ranges, if given)
will be used. If a range is revised when moving from Early Development to
Advanced Development, for example, the new capacity figure will be used
and the facility entry updated accordingly. This may mean a given project's
stated capacity will be adjusted one or more times over the project life cycle.
One effect of this change is that the 2022 capture capacity in the project
pipeline bar chart is not directly comparable with previous capture capacities.
A portion of the increase from 2021 to 2022 is due to this measurement
change, and a portion is due to growth in projects.
GLOBAL CCS
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