Carbon Capture
and Storage.

CO₂ is separated from the flue gases produced at power stations or industrial plants using one of three main methods: post-combustion (chemical solvent strips CO₂ after the fuel is burnt), pre-combustion (fuel is converted to a hydrogen-rich gas before combustion), or oxy-fuel combustion (burning fuel in near-pure oxygen to produce a concentrated CO₂ stream).

Once captured, the CO₂ is compressed into a dense liquid state and transported to a suitable storage site. Pipelines are the most common method; ships, rail, and road tankers are also used for more remote or offshore destinations.

The CO₂ is injected into deep geological formations — typically 1 km or more underground — and permanently stored in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep saline aquifers, or unmineable coalfields where the geology is stable and well-characterised.

According to the IEA's Sustainable Development Scenario, CCUS accounts for nearly 10% of the cumulative reduction by 2070 compared with the Stated Policies Scenario.

The IPCC stated that achieving a 2°C goal is estimated to be 138% more expensive without CCS. This added expense equates to 2% of cumulative global GDP through 2100.

In many regions, CCS is the most cost-effective approach to curb emissions in iron, steel, and chemical manufacturing and the only viable solution for deep emissions reductions from cement production. It is also a cost-effective pathway for low-carbon hydrogen production.

With the application of CCS, we can maintain the advantages of fossil fuels — reliability, energy density, and storage — while dramatically cutting their carbon footprint. This is particularly important in areas that rely heavily on coal or face potential energy insecurity.

CCUS accounts for nearly 10% of the cumulative emission reductions required by 2070 under the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario — making it an indispensable part of the global net-zero toolkit.

In 2014, the Boundary Dam Power Station in Saskatchewan, Canada became the world’s first commercial-scale post-combustion CCS facility on a coal-fired power plant. Over a decade later, it remains a landmark success story in coal abatement.

The project demonstrates that up to 99% of coal pollutants can be abated with further investment, and that costs reduce significantly as the technology scales — making a compelling case for wider deployment globally.

It can reduce sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from the coal process by up to 100% and CO₂ emissions by up to 92%, delivering cleaner power to Saskatchewan homes while proving the commercial viability of CCS at scale.

In Japan, the Kansai Electric Power demonstration project, utilising liquefied CO₂ transportation from a coal-fired complex in Kyoto to a gas formation reservoir, was set to start operations in 2027.

In January 2022, the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier, arrived in Victoria, Australia, shipping hydrogen derived from gasified coal to Japan as part of the Carbonnet CCS project.

J-Power and ENEOS have announced a feasibility study for a domestic CCS project aimed at decarbonising oil refining, coal power, and biomass-fired plants for storage in western Japan.

Research has unveiled the potential of CCS in reducing China's CO₂ emissions by 1.8 billion tonnes by 2060 — a critical contribution to the country's carbon neutrality pledge.

The Taizhou thermal coal power plant, owned by China Energy Investment Corporation, stands as Asia's largest CCS facility. It is integrated with the 10 MW ultra-supercritical, double-reheating coal-fired generators of Taizhou company, utilising advanced chemical absorption technology.

China's deployment demonstrates that CCS is viable at scale in Asia's largest power sector — and sets a template for other coal-dependent economies in the region.