Carbon capture and storage market development

The report ‘Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Market Analysis – Forecast (2016 - 2021)’, has been published by IndustryARC. According to the report, climate change obligations, alongside carbon emission standards, are set to drive the American and European CO₂ capture and storage markets to US$3.6 billion and US$1.2 billion, respectively, by 2021.

Global CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels are estimated to increase by 11% in the coming future, with biofuels contributing a major share towards this increase in energy consumption. This will, however, increase emissions and, as such, there is a growing concern regarding the environmental impact. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is a viable technique for the prevailing problem, as it helps capture carbon dioxide from different sources of emission, separating it from other gases and transporting to a suitable location for storage.

The increased usage of biofuels for transportation and other applications has resulted in biofuels becoming the major market, followed by natural gas, for the CCS industry. The global market is estimated to reach US$7.8 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of around 23%.

The CCS market is mainly driven by the fact that this technology is used to mitigate carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and eventually helps in reducing its risks posed to the atmosphere. The dominant drivers for CO₂ capture and storage market include climate change obligations, emission standards and taxation policies on carbon emissions among industry and power plant operators.

Considering the cumulative commitment of disparate industrial stakeholders in curbing CO₂ emissions, coupled with the ongoing dominant role of fossil fuels in energy generation, carbon capture and storage technology is being adopted and employed across the globe. Pre-combustion capture was assessed to be the largest revenue generating segment in 2015, with a share of 62% of the total market. However, due to the emergence of other technologies, its share is expected to decrease by 2021. The oxy fuel technology segment is forecast to witness brisk growth, driven by technological advancements and innovation. Storage of carbon dioxide plays an important role in the overall CCS technology, as it supports future sourcing of fossil fuels. According to the current technology and regulatory scenario, the licensing of CO₂ storage sites involves stringent laws and regulations to be followed.

The global market for carbon capture and storage is dominated by the Americas, which is poised to exhibit the fastest growth due to increasing initiatives for reducing carbon footprint, and is followed by Europe. The penetration of the CO₂ capture and storage market in a particular end use industry depends on several factors, including economic feasibility and long term viability, scale of operations, location, government regulations, pressure on the industry on environmental grounds, and commitment towards environmental sustainability at an industrial level. The CCS market in the American region is, however, anticipated to grow at a very high pace during the forecast period.

The largest market in APAC was China in 2015, and it is forecast to grow through 2015 to 2021 and reach US$1.5 billion. Growing awareness regarding the environmental impact of carbon emissions will have a positive impact on the carbon capture and storage market. However, the significant investment required for these projects will hinder the adoption of this technology in the short term.

The number of adopters across the world for CO₂ capture and storage has notably increased over the past few years. These companies are actively investing in scaling up their position in the market, and are able to attract profitable deals.

The market is still in emerging stage, where the operations existing in the industry have been only for demonstration purposes. The industry is yet to witness the wide scale deployment of the technology across the globe. The US, Canada and the UK are leading the initiative through continuous amendments in climate change policies, and the creation of separate funding for research and development in the CO₂ capture and storage market.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/the-environment/15072016/carbon-capture-and-storage-market-development-3714/