The Australian government is making strides in carbon capture storage and utilisation technology. I will uncover its ambition and key projects launched as part of the strategy to attain net zero by 2050. I will list out top startups employing carbon capture technology in various ways. I will also mention three key obstacles hindering the progress of carbon capture technology before concluding with my final thoughts.
Ambition & Strategy
Australia aims to achieve a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and reach a net-zero status by 2050. The Australian government is investing more than A$300 million to develop carbon capture and storage technology over the next decade, A$250 million spent on developing carbon capture hubs, infrastructure and funding research and development projects.
An allocation of A$50 million is designated to fund the construction of six carbon capture projects. In addition, It is also investing $20 million to support CarbonNet's stage 3 activities to establish a carbon capture and storage network in the Victorian Gippsland Basin.
Carbon Capture Projects
- Chevron has invested $3 billion in developing a carbon capture and storage project in Western Australia, which currently stands as the sole active facility of its kind in the region. It has captured 6 million tonnes of carbon from August 2019 to July 2022.
- The Moomba carbon capture and storage project, located in Southern Australia, has been developed by Santos in partnership with Beach Energy. It can store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, it is set to be
operational in 2024. - Carbon Transport and Storage project located in Queensland, developed by Glencore for $25 million with 110,00 tonnes of storage capacity. This project is to capture carbon emitted from coal-fired power stations.
Top Startups
- Kapture Earth was established in 2021, with headquarters in Melbourne. It is the first company to decarbonise diesel generators through its carbon and storage filter technology.
- Marli Tech was founded in 2021 and has its head office in Melbourne. It enables global net zero emissions by creating a global marketplace for decarbonizing companies, supply chains, and commodities using blockchain,
crypto and artificial intelligence. - Genesis Co Pty Limited was established in 2018, with headquarters in Sydney. They have developed direct carbon sequestration technology and built algae products using carbon to fuel the process.
- Carbon Asset Solutions was founded in 2018 and is based in Brisbane.
- They have designed a technology platform operating in carbon credit and sustainable investment sectors.
- Bondi Bio was established in 2018 with the head office in Sydney. They are a solar bio-engineering firm intent on building plant-derived natural products from light, water, and carbon dioxide.
Challenges
- The first problem is project financing implying that the upfront cost to build a carbon capture facility is high, and as a result, it is tough to deploy it at scale across the country.
- The second major obstacle lies in the division of carbon capture legislation between the two entities: the commonwealth jurisdiction governing offshore areas and state laws governing onshore areas. This division has resulted in a muddy regulatory framework, making it hard to establish a cohesive and streamlined approach to carbon capture and storage initiatives.
- The third issue is that the approval for projects is quite long, as it can take as much as six to eight years to get approval which limits Australia's ability to scale the technology.
Final Viewpoint
In this piece, I have talked about Australia’s ambition and strategy concerning carbon capture and storage. The Australian government has initiated several significant carbon capture projects alongside the top five indigenous startups actively engaged in the carbon capture and storage market. I have also addressed the top three challenges hindering Australia’s ability to deploy carbon capture technology at scale. Finally, I would like to say that much work remains for Australia to become a clean and sustainable economy, and the steps laid out are in the right direction.
End Notes:
- https://energyfocus.the-eic.com/power/five-countries-leading-way-carbon-capture-and-storage
- https://www.f6s.com/companies/carbon-capture/australia/co
- https://www.iea.org/news/australia-has-raised-its-climate-targets-and-now-needs-to-accelerate-its-clean-energy-transition-says-new-iea-review
- https://www.corrs.com.au/insights/the-future-of-large-scale-carbon-capture-storage-projects-in-australia
- https://australia.chevron.com/-/media/australia/publications/documents/gorgon-co2-injection-project.pdf
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/16/gas-giant-chevron-falls-further-behind-on-carbon-capture-targets-for-gorgon-gasfield
- https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/moomba-carbon-capture-and-storage-ccs-project/
- https://co2geonet.com/media/72880/15-greer.pdf
- https://carbonherald.com/australia-awards-glencore-25m-for-its-carbon-capture-project/
- https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/australian-government-backs-six-carbon-capture-projects-with-39-mln/83335987
- https://www.aofm.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11-28/Aust%20Govt%20CC%20Actions%20Update%20November%202022_1.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221005418
- https://www.whitecase.com/insight-our-thinking/how-australian-laws-and-regulations-affect-carbon-capture-and-storage
- https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/carbon-capture-and-the-battle-to-get-to-scale-20230530-p5dchs
