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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Carbon capture and storage’s role within Australia’s energy transition: necessary, safe, and reliable

Matthias Raab A * and Geoffrey O’Brien A
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A CO2CRC, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.

* Correspondence to: matthias.raab@co2crc.com.au

The APPEA Journal 63 S419-S422 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22042
Accepted: 24 February 2023   Published: 11 May 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

Globally, the annual amount of carbon dioxide stored via carbon capture and storage (CCS) must increase to 75–100 times the current CCS levels over the next 20 years. Within Australia, the proposed CCS projects offer the opportunity to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint by 15–20% whilst encouraging new developments and expanded energy outputs. Any potential barriers to the efficient roll-out of these CCS projects, such as delays in regulatory approvals, must be mitigated as a matter of priority. CO2CRC considers that an active engagement process between CCS project proponents, regulators, and government will improve the collective understanding and genuinely facilitate this critical project roll-out phase. New technologies, such as enhanced injection (e.g. MicroBubble, surfactants) and innovative monitoring and modelling capacities, offer the opportunity to make CCS cheaper and dramatically improve storage efficiency, making the technology applicable to a broader geographic and geological footprint, including to those areas onshore with poorer reservoir characteristics. These new injection and monitoring approaches are also genuine enablers for the roll-out of Direct Air Capture plus Storage, as well as for CCS to support hard-to-abate industries – by bringing low-cost and efficient storage to the CO2 sources/capture foci themselves. The industry’s willingness to invest in CCS, a smooth regulatory approvals pipeline and the increased efficiencies derived from a range of new technologies will ensure that CCS’s long-held promise is realised and delivers the much-needed reductions in national and global emissions.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage, CCS, enhanced injection, greenhouse gas regulation, London Protocol, monitoring, necessity of CCS, new technologies, project roll-out.

Dr Matthias Raab is the CEO of CO2CRC, a well-respected research organisation globally recognised for innovative carbon capture, utilisation, and storage solutions. Dr Raab is committed to Australia’s energy transition as a leader in the global scientific, engineering, energy, and resources sectors. Passionate about finding innovative solutions to energy, climate, and resource challenges, Dr Raab’s 25+ year career has spanned academia, government, industry, and the not-for-profit sectors and involved collaborating with international leaders and experts in their fields.

Dr Geoffrey O’Brien is the Chief Scientist for CO2CRC. Geoff has over 35 years’ experience in the marine research, petroleum, and CCS sectors and has worked in and for the petroleum industry as a petroleum systems and CCS technical specialist. He has also worked for Geoscience Australia, where he was the Research Group Leader for the Marine Environment & Offshore Petroleum Group, as a research consultant at the University of Adelaide, as the Energy Geoscience Manager at Geoscience Victoria and as the Chief Geoscientist for NOPTA. Dr O’Brien has a comprehensive understanding knowledge of Australia’s sedimentary basin systems and their petroleum potential, and over the last 15 years has become increasingly involved in the CCS sector. A passion is the development of tailored and targeted CCS work programs that relate specifically to the ultimate regulatory requirements, thereby facilitating the Pathway to Storage and providing greater efficiencies for CCS project proponents.