Critical Materials For The Energy Transition

By International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA

This paper will assess how the growth of renewables will put critical materials at the centre of the energy transformation, with the objective of highlighting the criticalities related to the sector and of identifying how technological developments and innovation can positively reduce geopolitical risks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRENA
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9789292603892

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© IRENA 2021

Unless otherwise stated, material in this publication may be freely used, shared, copied, reproduced, printed and/or stored, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given of the author(s) as the source and IRENA as the copyright holder. Material in this publication attributed to third parties may be subject to separate terms of use and restrictions, and appropriate permissions from these third parties may need to be secured before any use of such material.

ISBN: 978-92-9260-362-5

eBook ISBN: 978-92-9260-389-2

Citation: Lyons, M., P. Durrant and K. Kochhar (2021), Reaching Zero with Renewables: Capturing Carbon, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.

About IRENA

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge, and a driver of action on the ground to advance the transformation of the global energy system. An intergovernmental organisation established in 2011, IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. www.irena.org

Acknowledgements

This working paper was authored by Martina Lyons, Paul Durrant and Karan Kochhar under the guidance of Dolf Gielen. The paper benefited from valuable inputs provided by IRENA colleagues Michael Taylor on costs, Simon Benmarraze, Paula Nardone and Josefine Axelsson on NDCs, and Seungwoo Kang and Aravind Ganesan on BECCS.

The working paper benefited from the technical review provided by Eve Tamme (Climate Principles), Alex Joss (UNFCCC Climate Champions team), Mai Bui (Imperial College London), Sanna O’Connor-Morberg and Kash Burchett (Energy Transition Commission) and Wolfgang Schneider (European Commission). Valuable feedback and review were also received from IRENA colleagues Herib Blanco, Francisco Boshell, Pablo Carvajal, Remi Cerdan, Paul Komor and Carlos Ruiz. The report was edited by Francis Field.

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IRENA. This publication does not represent IRENA’s official position or views on any topic.

The Technical Papers series are produced as a contribution to technical discussions and to disseminate new findings on relevant topics. Such publications may be subject to comparatively limited peer review. They are written by individual authors and should be cited and described accordingly.

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Title Page

CONTENTS

Figures

Tables

Boxes

Abbreviations

Executive summary

1. The role of carbon capture

2. The current status of carbon capture, transportation, utilisation and storage

3. The future role of CCS, CCU and CDR

4. Actions required in the next 10 years

References

Annexes

Annex A: CCS, CCU and CDR, and their roles in emissions reduction

Annex B: CO2 Capture – status and potential

Annex C: Status and potential for the transportation of CO2

Annex D: Status and potential for CO2storage

Annex E: Status and potential for CO2 utilisation

Annex F: Status and potentials for CDR technologies (BECCS & DACCS)

References

FIGURES

FIGURE 1: Total investments by technology in IRENA’s Planned Energy Scenario (PES) and 1.5°C Scenario (2021–2050)

FIGURE 2: Carbon cycle

FIGURE 3: The scale of global carbon capture installed capacity required

FIGURE 4: Carbon chain

FIGURE 5: Share of commercial, pilot and demonstration projects for CCS, DACCS and BECCS

FIGURE 6: Technology readiness levels of CO 2 capture technologies

FIGURE 7: Commercial availability of CO 2 capture technologies

FIGURE 8: Avoidance costs of CO 2 capture for selected capture technologies as reported by a variety of scientific publications

FIGURE 9: Cost estimates for onshore and offshore storage

FIGURE 10: The role of CCS, CCU and BECCS across sectors

FIGURE 11: Costs of production via carbon route, as a percentage of renewable pathway

FIGURE 12: Share of CO 2 capture, utilisation and/or storage by sector by 2050

FIGURE 13: Share of BECCS by sector in 2050

FIGURE 14: Actions required in the next 10 years

FIGURE 15: CCS plants, 2010–2020

FIGURE 16: The declining importance of fossil fuels (fossil fuel primary supply, 2018–2050 in the 1.5°C Scenario)

FIGURE 17: Costs of production via carbon route as a percentage of renewable pathway

FIGURE 18: CO 2 concentration per source

FIGURE 19: Post-combustion

FIGURE 20: Pre-combustion

FIGURE 21: Oxy-combustion

FIGURE 22: Direct air capture with chemical solvent

FIGURE 23: Non-exhaustive list of CCS/CCU projects in fossil fuel power generation at different stages of operation

FIGURE 24: LCOE of CCGT and supercritical coal-fired power plants for commissioning in 2025 in Australia and the United States

FIGURE 25: Non-exhaustive list of CCS/CCU projects from natural gas processing in different stages of operation

FIGURE 26: Cement production and components

FIGURE 27: Non-exhaustive list of CCS/CCU projects in cement sector at different stages of operation

FIGURE 28: List of CCS and CCU projects in the iron and steel sector at different stages of development

FIGURE 29: Non-exhaustive list of CCU and CCS plants in the petrochemicals and chemicals industry

FIGURE 30: Hydrogen use trends, 1980–2018

FIGURE 31: Blue hydrogen CCS projects

FIGURE 32: CO 2 storage resources (millions of tonnes) in major oil and gas fields (excluding saline formations)

FIGURE 33: Storage resource assessment in major countries

FIGURE 34: Overview of some of CO 2 -EOR commercial and demonstration projects (ongoing, completed and planned)

FIGURE 35: Overview of some demonstration projects for CO 2 storage in depleted oil and gas fields

FIGURE 36: Some projects storing CO 2 in saline formations

FIGURE 37: Overview of costs of storage (saline formations and depleted or disused oil/gas fields)

FIGURE 38: Overview of storage costs in Europe

FIGURE 39: CO 2 hubs, clusters and transportation networks in operation or development

FIGURE 40: CO 2 utilisation applications

FIGURE 41: Re-emission of utilised CO 2

FIGURE 42: Non-exhaustive list of ongoing and planned BECCS/BECCU projects

FIGURE 43: Non-exhaustive list of direct air capture projects

TABLES

TABLE 1: Potential for biogenic carbon capture in 2050 in IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario

TABLE 2: The inclusion of CCS in long-term strategies by G20 countries submitted to the UNFCCC

TABLE 3: Overview of economics and emissions of coal-fired power generation via different methods

TABLE 4: Selection of post- and oxy-combustion technologies to capture CO 2 in cement plants

TABLE 5: Selection of post- and oxy-combustion technologies to capture CO 2 in iron and steel plants

TABLE 6: Overview of performance, cost and readiness levels for capturing carbon from ammonia and methanol production

TABLE 7: Overview of performance, cost and readiness levels for capturing carbon from ethylene production

TABLE 8: Carbon and energy efficiency for different methods of biomass integration

TABLE 9: Comparison of costs of avoided CO 2 for fossil fuel-based CCS and BECCS

TABLE 10: Comparison of biomass-based and CCS routes for the production of ammonia and methanol

TABLE 11: Overview of performance, cost and readiness levels for capturing carbon from standalone hydrogen production

TABLE 12: Capital and CO 2 avoidance costs for DAC from literature

BOXES

BOX 1: BECCS and DACCS

BOX 2: Emissions removal and reduction

BOX 3: Technology readiness level

BOX 4: Three main approaches to capture CO 2

BOX 5: CO 2 hubs, clusters and transportation networks

ABBREVIATIONS

AMP amino-methyl-propanol

ATR auto thermal reforming

BECCS bioenergy with carbon capture and storage

BF-BOF blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace

°C degrees Celsius

CaO calcium oxide

CAPEX capital expenditures

CCGT combined cycle gas turbines

CCS carbon capture and storage

CCU carbon capture and utilisation

CDR carbon dioxide removal

CO2 carbon dioxide

CO2eq carbon dioxide equivalent

CS crude steel

DAC direct air (carbon) capture

DACCS direct air (carbon) capture and storage

DACCU direct air (carbon) capture and utilisation

DRI direct reduced iron

EAF electric arc furnace

ECRA European Cement Research Academy

EIB European Investment Bank

EJ exajoule

EOR enhanced oil recovery

EU European Union

FOAK first-of-a-kind

Gt gigatonnes

Gtpa gigatonnes per year

GW gigawatt

H2 hydrogen

HRC hot rolled coil

IEA International Energy Agency

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ktpa kilotonnes per year

kWh kilowatt hour

kWhe kilowatt hours electric

LCOE levelised costs of electricity

LEDS low-greenhouse-gas emission development strategies

LULUCF land use, land-use change, and forestry

MEA monoethanolamine

MDEA methyldiethanolamin

MJ megajoule

MSW municipal solid waste

Mtpa megatonnes per year

MW megawatt

MWh megawatt hour

Nnitrogen

Nm3 normal cubic metre

NDC Nationally Determined Contributions

NGCC natural gas combined cycle

NOx nitrogen oxides

NO2 nitrogen dioxide

O&M operation and maintenance

OPEX operating expenditures

PCC post-combustion capture

PCI Project of Common Interest

PPA power purchase agreement

ppm parts per million

Pz piperazine

RD&D Research, development and demonstration

SO2 sulphur dioxide

SMR steam methane reforming

T&S transport and storage

tCO2 tonne of CO₂

TGR-BF top gas recycled blast furnace

toe tonne of oil equivalent

Tpa tonnes per year

TRL technology readiness level

TWh terawatt hour

UK United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change

USC ultra-supercritical

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This technical paper explores the status and potential of carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies and their roles alongside renewables in the deep decarbonisation of energy systems. It complements and builds upon the broader discussions on the energy transition in other recent IRENA reports, including the World Energy Transitions Outlook (IRENA, 2021a) and Reaching Zero with Renewables (IRENA, 2020). The paper summarises the status of these technologies in terms of current deployment and costs, potential future roles, and the challenges and prospects for scaling-up their use in the context of the 1.5°C climate change goal and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The main report provides an overview of these topics whilst the annexes provide additional resources and more detailed background information, including a discussion of key components, and tables presenting information on existing and planned projects.

The capture and storage of CO2 has a moderate but indispensable role to play in global deep decarbonisation strategies; but the pace of recent progress in validating and deploying CCS, CCU and CDR technologies in multiple sectors falls far short of pathways consistent with the 1.5oC goal.

The