(185b) Strategies for Decarbonization: CO2 Market Analysis and Technology Update

The growing demand for technologies to capture, utilize, and sequester CO₂, bolstered by government and public realization of meeting global energy demands and climate goals, is an opportunity for the chemical and process industries. Existing facilities around the world have the potential to capture more than 40 MtCO­₂ every year with the advent of capture technologies in the 1970s for use in enhanced oil recovery. There has been a building momentum in the field arising from investment incentives and the civic value of meeting climate targets. The technologies that have been implemented the most involve chemical absorption or physical separation, which have worked successfully for decades now. At SwRI, we have integrated teams working on all facets of CCUS and related infrastructure developed for real-world CO₂ producers. Our expertise ranges over chemisorption, membrane and oxy-fuel separations, chemical and calcium looping, direct air capture, infrastructure and logistics, and supercritical CO­₂ power cycles. SwRI has a notable share in the development of technologies for the approaching net-zero carbon economy by 2050 and a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035.

This presentation will cover recent trends in the CO₂ market including carbon capture innovation, CO₂ pipeline updates, and sequestration project development. It will also detail the increasing need for carbon utilization process development. As CCS projects begin to increase in size and number, there presents a unique opportunity for CO₂ to become a critical feedstock for a developing market in carbon utilization. The CO₂ conversion market has a wide value and multiple markets chain including specialty chemicals, sustainable aviation fuels, polymers, and new material development such as graphene. Process development in these areas is critical in the short term to be prepared for the emergency carbon market in the future. SwRI has a unique opportunity with its technical expertise to view both sides of the CCUS value chain and support process development in each area.