White Paper 2: Can technology help to unlock ‘unburnable carbon’?
White Paper 2
To stay within the 2°C carbon budget, a very significant reduction in fossil fuel consumption is required. If we are to meet our carbon budget the majority of global fossil fuel reserves cannot be combusted: the unburnable carbon.
The role of technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) may be critical in enabling a greater quantity of fossil fuel to be combusted within a low-carbon framework. This extensive review paper assesses the current state of knowledge regarding the ‘unburnable carbon’ issue, and attempt to provide clarity by quantitatively defining the potential role of CCS in unlocking the unburnable carbon over the next 85 years.
Dissemination
Please cite the paper as: Budinis, S., Krevor, S., Mac Dowell, N., Brandon, N & Hawkes A. (2016) Can technology unlock ‘unburnable carbon’? Sustainable Gas Institute, Imperial College London.
Dissemination
Blogs
16/12/16 – Weighing up the evidence on CCS – Grantham Institute blog
04/05/16 – Guest Blog: Can technology unlock ‘unburnable’ carbon? – UKERC (archived)
24/05/16 – 5 things you need to know about… unburnable carbon – Grantham Institute blog
Citations
16/09/16 – ‘Is CCS dead and if not how do we resuscitate it?’ by Jim Ward at IGEM Annual Conference, 2016 – (Presentation Slides)
30/06/16 – CCS in the UK: A new strategy – Advisory Group Report – A report for the Committee on Climate Change authored by Dr Rob Gross of the Grantham Institute (Policy Report)
01/06/16 – About Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) Technology – Boston Commons High Tech Network (Technology community website) (archived)
06/06/16 – Climate change: Will Carbon Capture and Storage be the techno-fix to ‘unlock’ unburnable fossil fuels? (Community Forum website)
Journal Articles
July 2017 – Can Carbon Capture and Storage Unlock ‘Unburnable Carbon’? Energy Procedia, Volume 114, July 2017, 7504–7515
Launch Event
The evening commenced with a welcome by the Institute’s Director, Professor Nigel Brandon followed by a 30-minute overview of the report from the lead author, Dr. Sara Budinis.
The panel members include:-
· Dr. Luke Warren, new chief executive of Carbon Capture & Storage Association (CCSA)
· Professor. Paul Ekins, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Resources, at University College London and a UKERC Co-Director
· Ms. Charlotte Wolff-Bye, Head of Sustainability Strategy at Statoil
#unlockCCS hastag was used to promote the White Paper. Please find the Storify from the event.
Presentations/Conferences
19/05/16 – White Paper 2: Can technology unlock unburnable carbon?’ launch event at Imperial College
31/05/16 – Energy Futures Lab (EFL) seminar at Imperial College: Is there really such a thing as unburnable carbon? (archived)
13/06/16 – White Paper 2: Can technology unlock unburnable carbon?’at Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (archived)
18/09/16 – Seminar as part of the Energy and Climate Seminar Series at the University of Sussex (Slides)
Press
18/05/16 – Carbon capture and storage key to unlocking unburnable carbon, says white paper – Imperial College
18/05/16 – CCS key to burning more carbon by 2100, say researchers – Business Green
18/05/16 – Study says CCS key to climate goals, fossil-energy use – Oil & Gas Journal
18/05/16 – CCS could have important role post-2050, says new report –New Power
18/05/16 – Carbon Capture Must Prevent 85-90% CO2 Emissions to Meet Climate Goals – Environmental Leader
18/05/16 –“Unburnable Carbon” Burnable with CCS, Report Finds – Exchange Monitor (archived)
18/05/16 – Carbon capture and storage key to unlocking unburnable carbon – Hydrocarbon Engineering
19/05/16 – Carbon capture and storage technology – Energy & Environment Management (archived)
19/05/16- Study: Most fossil fuels unburnable without carbon capture – CarbonBrief
19/05/16 – Carbon capture to unlock burnable carbon – Green Energy UK
19/05/16 – CCS could save fossil fuels: research – IEA Clean Coal Centre
20/05/16 – Can Technology Unlock Unburnable Carbon? – Coal Hub
23/05/16 – Carbon capture key to unlocking ‘unburnable’ fossil fuel resources – Edie.net
23/05/16 – Carbon capture key to unlocking ‘unburnable’ fossil fuel resources – Utility Week
23/05/16- Can Technology Unlock Unburnable Carbon? – IEAGHG blog (archived)
25/05/16 – CCS could save fossil fuels: research – Energy News Bulletin (archived)
01/06/16 – Editorial Comment – LNG Industry
01/07/16 – New carbon capture technologies and climate change – Cubed Magazine, British Council
01/07/16 – Will technology be able to unlock ‘unburnable carbon’? – Gastech News (archived)
19/07/16 – Unlocking unburnable carbon: CCS and the carbon bubble – Adjacent Oil and Gas (archived)
14/09/16 – Unlocking ‘unburnable carbon’ – Eurasia Industry
International Press
26/09/16 – Tecnologia pode viabilizar exploração de reservas fósseis – Valor Econômico (Brazilian)
30/09/16 – Estudo avalia a viabilidade do uso de gás natural no setor marítimo brasileiro – Portos e Navios (Brazilian) (archived)
Technical Reports
2016-05 Can CO2 capture and storage unlock ‘unburnable carbon’ – IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme
Videos
My research in a nutshell: featuring Dr Sara Budinis (24 seconds)
An invitation to the launch event with Dr Sara Budinis in the Imperial College CCS plant (1 minute 24 seconds)
Dr Adam Hawkes gives a glimpse into some of the findings from a new review from the Sustainable Gas Institute. (3 minutes 38 second)
Following an overview of the report’s key findings from the lead author, Dr Sara Budinis, a panel discussion reflected on the report and the issues raised. (1 hour 32 minutes)
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