Accelerating the development and adoption of low emission technologies like carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) is now possible following the Australian Government’s commitment to invest in new energy technologies.
Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA) Chief Executive Officer Mark McCallum welcomed today’s announcement by the Government to expand the remits of ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to include low emission technologies beyond renewables and commit $1.9 billion funding for them. “Government policy plays a critical role in enabling technology development and deployment, and the expansion of investment rules, along with the funding, will help stimulate industry investment and a step-change in innovation,” said Mr McCallum.
“Just last week the International Energy Agency released its Energy Technology Perspectives 2020 report and reiterated its calls for more global CCUS investment, highlighting this technology as essential to lowering emissions and meeting international climate goals.
“The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change backs this view.
“We hear a lot of commentary calling for leaders to ‘listen to the science’ and the government’s announcement today shows it’s doing that and is serious about a technology-neutral approach to emissions reduction.”
Mr McCallum said all available and proven technologies must be at the forefront of measures to reduce and remove carbon dioxide from large-scale emissions processes such as power generation, mining, processing and manufacturing.
“Low emission technologies like CCS and renewables are partner technologies working towards the same decarbonised objective,” he said.
“We’re especially pleased to see the Carbon Capture Use and Storage Fund has been set up with $50 million to support pilot projects,” he said.
“LETA is currently investing with the Australian Government in Glencore’s CTSCo Project. The next phase of this will see an integrated CCS project in Queensland which would be an Australian first and only the third in the world — involving the capture, transport and safe, permanent storage of CO2 from a power station.
“Access to this funding would help us turn the first phase of the project into further phases, which could be very exciting for Australia, removing potentially tens of millions of tonnes of industrial emissions in Queensland.
“In addition to capturing CO2 emissions from a power station, CO2 from many sources including a range of industries and power stations could also be safely and permanently stored, and industries of the future opened up, such as producing clean hydrogen.
“This project effectively enables a carbon hub to be created.
“Put simply, investment in this project and low emission technologies means energy security, jobs and a transition to cleaner energy and a low carbon economy.”
Mr McCallum said it was important to note that CCUS is not a technology in its infancy and Glencore’s CTSCo Project builds on the decade of work done in Australia to establish low emission technologies.
“We developed a world-first in proving carbon capture technology on coal-fired power stations at Callide in Queensland, we’ve identified commercial scale storage reservoirs for carbon capture storage projects, and the world’s largest commercial scale CO2 project is in operation at Chevron’s Gorgon LNG plant on Barrow Island in Western Australia.
“Also, there are 59 large-scale CCUS projects globally in operation, under construction or in development.”
LETA will continue to partner with government and industry locally and internationally to develop its projects and unlock industry investment in large-scale emissions reduction projects.
ENDS
About LETA
LETA is a $550 million fund established by the Australian black coal industry to invest in technologies that can significantly reduce emissions and support the transition to a low emission global economy, in line with the Paris Agreement. We partner with government and industry locally and internationally to develop projects that reduce and remove carbon emissions from large-scale industrial processes such as power generation, steel and cement manufacturing, mining, and future energy sources such as hydrogen. Our investment in low-emissions technologies demonstrate and support global action to lower industrial emissions in Australia and overseas.
About LETA projects
LETA’s projects include Australia’s first carbon hub in Queensland, the Carbon Transport and Storage Company CCUS project, clean hydrogen production and the Allam Cycle – a near-zero emission power generation technology for coal.