Broad & Bipartisan Backing: Carbon management technologies enjoy broad support

by Leo Duke and Diana Leane (Carbon Capture Magazine) ... (P)olitical, business, economic, and environmental leaders agree on the need for these technologies as part of the overall mix of technologies to address climate change.

45Q Sets the Foundation for Commercial Deployment of Carbon Management Technologies
Today, there are 14 domestic commercial-scale facilities with the capacity to capture and store approximately 20 million metric tons of CO2 per year, representing nearly half of the global deployment of the technology to date. Historically, carbon capture technology has been primarily applied in those industrial sectors that emit a pure stream of CO2, such as ethanol production or natural gas processing. However, enhancements to the 45Q tax credit have turbocharged interest in applying carbon management technologies across emitting sectors.

This August marked the second anniversary of the IRA, a critical milestone for the section 45Q tax credit, the foundational policy for the deployment of carbon management technologies. The 45Q tax credit provides a credit on a per-metric ton basis for carbon that is captured from emitting facilities or directly from the air and then permanently stored or reused to make useful products. Today, thanks to these historic policies in support of carbon management, there are now nearly 220 announced carbon management projects in the US across a range of emitting sectors.

45Q Tax Credit Structure
Below, we detail several recent techno-policy developments for the deployment of these climate-crucial technologies across power, industry, CO2 transport, and promising developments in carbon removal.

First, the industrial sector relies on fossil fuels to provide high-temperature heat that cannot be easily substituted with renewable sources. Additionally, many industrial processes directly emit CO2, meaning these emissions are directly produced and emitted by the chemical or physical conversion of raw materials into finished goods and cannot be abated without carbon capture. These so-called process emissions are responsible for approximately one-quarter of the emissions from the industrial sector.

CO2 pipelines are the backbone of the economywide deployment of carbon management technologies across the United States.

The continued safe operation of CO2 pipelines is paramount as the industry expands. With over 5,000 miles of CO2 pipelines in operation, incidents are rare, and the industry has maintained an excellent safety record, according to a new issue brief from the Great Plains Institute. However, as carbon management projects grow, we must ensure the continued safe operation of these systems. To that end, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is working on updated regulations to ensure safety standards as this network expands as additional capture and removal facilities come online. As the nation continues to invest in carbon management technology, ensuring the safety of CO2 pipelines is crucial. The forthcoming PHMSA regulations and federal funding efforts must continue the commitment to building a safe and sustainable carbon transport infrastructure.

In parallel, the BIL provided DOE $2.1 billion through the Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (CIFIA) to offer access to capital for large-capacity, common-carrier carbon dioxide transport projects. To meet net zero emissions by midcentury, we must see a networked system of CO2 pipelines transporting CO2 from emitting sources or the air, to secure geologic storage. READ MORE