Technology readiness: Implementation of CO2 capture, utilisation and removal measures

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

CO₂ capture, utilisation and storage measures can be retrofitted to existing traditional fossil fuel-based steel production. However, progress has been limited for decades. As of 2024, six commercial-scale CO₂ capture, utilisation, and storage projects for iron and steelmaking are under development (Global CCS Institute, 2024a).

Examples and initiatives

The only operational plant where CO₂ capture and storage is used solely with the DRI process for enhanced oil recovery is the Al Reyadah project by Emirates Steel in the United Arab Emirates. In 2023, around 26.6% of the gas-based steel plant’s emissions were captured (IEEFA, 2024).

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

There has been progress in deploying CO₂ capture plants in the chemical industry; a few are operational, and several are in the pipeline. CO₂ capture can be economically competitive for cases with chemical processes that have a relatively large CO₂ capture stream. However, large-scale deployment is hampered by high costs and nascent transport and storage chains.

Most of the CO₂ captured today is used for oil recovery. As the energy sector moves away from fossil fuels, the CO₂ captured will likely play a large role in the development of e-fuel production facilities for the shipping and aviation sectors.

Examples and initiatives

The Guanghui Energy plant in China commenced operations in 2023, capturing 100 000 tonnes of CO₂ annually from methanol production Global CCS Institute, 2024a).

Current status of implementation and existing gaps

CO₂ capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for high capture rate technologies with pre-commercial demonstrations are at various development stages. The cement industry is increasing investments in CCUS with a goal of capturing up to 14 MtCO₂ by 2030 (Cembureau, 2024)

Over 30 commercial-scale projects are in development, in China, Europe and North America. The GCCA roadmap set a milestone of 10 industrial-scale plants with CCUS by 2030; however, large-scale financing with initial capital investments including very high operational costs remains a barrier (GCCA, 2024).

Examples and initiatives

The Brevik CCS Project in Norway, the first full-scale cement CCUS plant, is expected to capture 400 000 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Global CCS Institute, 2022).

Heidelberg Materials is developing North America’s first large-scale CCUS facility in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. It is expected to capture 1 MtCO₂ per year (GCCA, 2024)

CNBM Qingzhou in China is the world’s largest cement CCUS project, expected to capture about 200 000 tonnes of CO₂ per year (GCCA, 2024).