A Call for Standards in the CO<sub>2</sub> Value Chain
Randi Neerup, Isaac Appelquist Løge, K. Helgason, Sandra Ó. Snæbjörnsdóttir, Bergur Sigfússon, Johan B. Svendsen, Nils T. Rosted, Peter Blinksbjerg, Jannik Kappel, Ragni Rørtveit, Szczepan Polak, Nik Felbab, Rasmus Holmer, Ajay Kumar Arora, Jimmy Andersen, Bogi Bech Jensen, Sebastian Nis Bay Villadsen, Georgios M. Kontogeorgis, Philip Loldrup Fosbøl
Abstract
If the global temperature increase should stay below 1.5 °C, timely action is needed to manage the existing climate crisis. CO2 capture and subsequent utilization or subsurface storage (CCUS) is a technology that will help to mitigate climate change. CCUS can be achieved only through international collaboration, because CO2 has no borders. This Viewpoint is a wake-up call from North European stakeholders to regulators. The CCUS technology is mature and ready for a global industry, but the regulatory framework is lagging. We urge policy makers to support development of a regulatory framework, which will allow a holistic CCUS value chain to be implemented. Of special urgency is the standardization of CO2 impurity levels, which should be a consideration of the cost associated with both conditioning and transport.In this Viewpoint, we highlight critical barriers in the CCUS value chain that include but are not limited to - compatibility problems of the feed streams from different capture processes - insufficient transport infrastructure that limits the probability of implementing CCUS - the fact that the world storage capacity needs to be expanded through reservoir innovation - lack of quality and purity standards for downstream CO2 storage and conversion - disconnected industries and cross-national regulations that limit the CO2 value chain To address these obstacles, we present the existing transport and storage business solutions, to list what is being done, where obstacles arise, and where possible mitigation strategies can be foreseen.