Official report on CCUS development in China released 
The Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, a branch of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, released on July 23 the 2021 Annual Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in China. The report shows China’s efforts to implement CCUS, forecasts about CCUS in the country, and so forth.
What is CCUS?
CCUS stands for Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage. It refers to technologies to separate, store and then utilize carbon dioxide. In the US, there are attempts to increase oil production by injecting carbon dioxide into an oil field to pushing up remaining crude oil while storing the carbon dioxide underground.
CCUS in China
According to the report, 40 CCUS model projects are now in operation or under construction in Beijing and other places. The amount of carbon dioxide removed by these model projects reaches three million tons annually. Most of the projects are small ones operating in petroleum, petrochemical and power generation industries and similar areas. There are few large-scale projects combining multiple technologies. However, Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) in July officially started building China’s first million-ton-class CCUS project.
Demand for carbon reduction through CCUS in China
The report forecasts, by industry, demand for carbon reduction through CCUS, which could help achieve China’s goal of carbon neutrality. See the table below for details.
Potential demand for carbon reduction through CCUS from 2025 to 2060
unit: 100 million tons per year
|
Industry |
2025 | 2030 | 2035 | 2040 | 2050 |
2060 |
| Coal power generation | 0.06 | 0.2 | 0.5–1 | 2–5 | 2–5 | 2–5 |
| Steel | 0.01 | 0.02–0.05 | 0.1–0.2 | 0.2–0.3 | 0.5–0.7 | 0.9–1.1 |
| Petrochemical/
chemical |
0.05 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| All industries | 0.09–0.3 | 0.2–4.08 | 1.19–8.5 | 3.7–13 | 6–14.5 | 10–18.2 |
In addition, the report says the technical cost per ton of carbon dioxide is expected to decrease from the current 310–770 yuan to 140–410 yuan by 2060 as related technologies advance (1 yuan ≈ 0.15 USD as of August 2021).
The full report (in simplified Chinese) is available at
http://www.caep.org.cn/sy/dqhj/gh/202107/t20210725_851241.shtml.
