Accelerating Net Zero from the perspective of Optimizing a Carbon Capture and Utilization System

Net zero requires an accelerated transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) can be an effective intermediate solution for the decarbonization of fossil fuels. However, many research works contain renewables in the design of CCU systems, which may mislead stakeholders regarding the hotspots of CCU systems. In this work we build a model of a CCU system with no renewables involved, and evaluate its greenhouse (GHG) emissions based on the life cycle assessment with a cradle-to-gate boundary. To pursue the best system performance, an optimization framework is established to digitalize and optimize the CCU system regarding GHG emissions reduction. The optimized CCU can reduce GHG emissions by 13% compared with the conventional process. Heating is identified as the most significant contributor to GHG emissions, accounting for 60%. Electrifying heating fully by low-carbon electricity can further reduce GHG emissions by 47%, but such extreme conditions will significantly sacrifice the economic benefit. By contrast, the multi-objective optimization can show how the decisions can affect the balance between GHG emissions and profit. Further, this work discusses the dual effect of carbon pricing on the CCU system – raising the cost of raw materials and utilities, but also gaining credits when emissions are reduced in producing valued products.

Integrating the ISO 14034 standard as a platform for carbon capture and utilization technology performance evaluation

Independent testing and verification of emerging technologies are vital parts of the technology-commercialization process. With the rapid development of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, where existing standards and certifications do not exist, independent verification approaches and guidelines can provide a means to obtain credible information for an emerging market. The ISO 14034:2016—Environmental Management: Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) standard can serve as a foundational platform to ensure the consistency, quality and credibility of data on CCU technology performance, enabling direct comparisons between technologies and reducing risk to decision-makers regarding potential investment, future deployment and ultimate impacts of CCU innovations. Applying the fundamental principles of ISO 14034 to the evaluation of nine finalist CCU technologies competing in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE ensured that data used to evaluate competitors was of high quality, consistent across technologies and met the information needs of the XPRIZE and competition judges responsible for selecting winners. The approaches outlined here, including verification parameters and verification tasks for both XPRIZE-specific technology evaluations and full CCU technology evaluation by an accredited entity in conformance with the ISO 14034 standard, provide insight into the potential benefits—methodological consistency, high-quality data, independent oversight, methodological flexibility and broad applicability—and limitations—technology readiness and applicability, verification and instrumentation costs and lack of specificity—of the approach in an application for the evaluation of emerging technologies. Further application of the ISO 14034 standard and principles, developed through a consensus approach that incorporates other developing guidelines, can drive consistency and credibility for technology-performance evaluations across the CCU sector, ultimately leading to reduced risk and improved market access for new innovations.

Carbon footprinting of carbon capture and -utilization technologies: discussion of the analysis of Carbon XPRIZE competition team finalists

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) of early-stage technologies can provide valuable insights about key drivers of emissions and aid in prioritizing research into further emissions-reduction opportunities. Despite this potential value, further development of LCA methods is required to handle the increased uncertainty, data gaps, and confidentially of early-stage data. This study presents a discussion of the life cycle carbon footprinting of technologies competing in the final round of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition—a US$20 million competition for teams to demonstrate the conversion of CO2 into valuable products at the scale of a small industrial pilot using consistent deployment conditions, boundaries, and methodological assumptions. This competition allowed the exploration of how LCA can be used and further improved when assessing disparate and early-stage technologies. Carbon intensity estimates are presented for two conversion pathways: (i) CO2 mineralization and (ii) catalytic conversion (including thermochemical, electrochemical, photocatalytic and hybrid process) of CO2, aggregated across teams to highlight the range of emissions intensities demonstrated at the pilot for individual life cycle stages. A future scenario is also presented, demonstrating the incremental technology and deployment conditions that would enable a team to become carbon-avoiding relative to an incumbent process (i.e. reducing emissions relative to a reference pathway producing a comparable product). By considering the assessment process across a diverse set of teams, conversion pathways and products, the study presents generalized insights about opportunities and challenges facing carbon capture and -utilization technologies in their next phases of deployment from a life cycle perspective.