Last week the Global CCS Institute held a CCS Finance Meeting and our fall Member Meeting the day after the election – which, if nothing else, certainly lent itself to easy networking talking points. A central theme throughout was that carbon management may be catalyzed by government policy but in the US it is driven by business case and industry investment – and whether corporations are pursuing CCS to meet climate goals (largely set internally, by states, or international drivers and not at the federal level), for economic development purposes, or to future-proof – that trajectory is not going to change. Moreover, there is an expectation that durable policies at the federal level will continue due to bipartisan support.
Speaking of the “business case,” another big theme was the focus on creating scalable, replicable, cost-effective business models. We need “wins on the board” that eventually lead to nth of a kind projects. I left our meetings optimistic that some of the most creative minds in the industry are well on their way to getting us there. It’s Chatham House rules, but I think Calpine, SLB, SLB Capturi, CO280, and CapturePoint LLC (to name a few) don’t mind if I attribute this momentum to them.
Demand for low-carbon energy from hyperscalers was omnipresent – and the key takeaway was that CCS may be advantaged as a low-carbon power solution for cost and timeline purposes ?– but…cost is important and we need to maintain momentum on Class VI wells and the overall CCS ecosystem, and continue our advocacy and education efforts to ensure that stakeholders understand that risks are acceptably low.
The biggest takeaway of all is that we are all in this together and need to continue to collaborate – so in that vein, thank you to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for sponsoring a networking breakfast and panel discussion on UK progress on CCUS and opportunities for collaboration (following the recent UK announcement of ￡21.7 billion to support CCUS projects!) and to Kiewit for sponsoring the evening networking reception and their role in putting steel in the ground!?And to everyone across two days who shared their insights and perspectives, thank you - Stuart Page, Bret Logue, Michael Brownlie, Nikhil Joshi, Renato Mour?o レナート?モウラオ, Noah Zerance, CFA, Michael Yurkerwich, CFA, Cris Crissy, Jeffrey D. Brown, Richard Chong, Benjamin Heard, Matthew Thomas, Andrew Gilbert, Christopher P. Hooper, CFA, ICD.D, Rafay Anwar, Justine Fisher, Tracy Evans, Jane Stricker, Matthew Hamman, Kate Zimmerman, Mathilde Blanchard, Andrew Novotny, Janelle D., Adam Forni, Bob Slettehaugh, Laura Sorey, PG, Jonathan Rhone, Damien Gerard, Jon Christopher Knudsen, Daniel Trapp, Brad Williams
