CARBON CAPTURE UTILISATION AND STORAGE (CCUS)
Bureau Veritas has a team of low carbon energy specialists, working with businesses on their Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) projects. Our team look after all renewable technologies to reduce risk, maintain compliance and ensure the feasibility of projects.
CCUS Consultation
CCUS is one of the key technologies that has been identified as critical in helping to combat climate change. This makes our position within the industry more important than ever. We are committed to providing unrivalled CCUS consultation services to support all UK carbon capture projects.
With unprecedented worldwide momentum behind CCUS and increasing investment, Bureau Veritas works with global leaders to provide expertise throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Our services help to reduce risk in CCUS projects, from site identification and initial feasibility, through to ongoing monitoring and risk assessment of facilities.
What is CCUS?
CCUS stands for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage and refers to the capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial facilities and transport either by pipeline or ship for utilisation or safe and permanent underground storage. Processes can include power generation, iron and steel, fertiliser, cement, chemicals and refining.
This process prevents the captured CO₂ from entering the atmosphere and the UK hopes to capture 47 million tons of CO2 per year by 2050 under its long-term strategy. This will help support ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a target reduction of 68% by 2030.
To enable this, the government has announced a £1 billion CCUS infrastructure fund and named the locations of the UK’s first 2 CCUS clusters:
- The East Coast Cluster which will capture and store emissions produced across the Humber and Teesside (these two regions account for nearly 50% of all UK industrial cluster emissions).
- The HyNet North West project in Liverpool Bay, where low-carbon hydrogen from fossil gas will also be produced.
Carbon Capture Goals
-
40 million metric tons of CO2
captured and stored globally in 2020
-
7gt of CO2
need to be captured each year by 2050 to meet net-zero targets
-
800 metres
minimum depth required for a secure CO2 reservoir
How does CCUS work?
Each CCUS project consists of three stages. They are:
- CAPTURE: First, the CO₂ is captured at the emitting source and removed. There are three types of capture: post‐combustion, pre‐ combustion and oxyfuel combustion. These methods can capture more than 95% of CO₂.
- TRANSPORT: The CO₂ is then compressed and transported to a suitable storage site or utilisation plant. Transport is generally carried out via pipelines and ship.
- UTILISATION/STORAGE: The CO₂ is either utilised as part of a product or injected into a suitable storage site deep under the seabed (between 0.8 – 3km down). The storage site is a carefully selected geological formation that ensures safe and permanent storage. Storage can either take place in depleted oil & gas fields, or deep saline formations.