4.3.6.1 Costs
Cost estimates of the components of a CCS system vary widely depending on the base case and the wide range of source, transport and storage options (Table 4.5). In most systems, the cost of capture (including compression) is the largest component, but this could be reduced by 20–30% over the next few decades using technologies still in the research phase as well as by upscaling and learning from experience (IPCC, 2005). The extra energy required is a further cost consideration. CO2 storage is economically feasible under conditions specific to enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and in saline formations, avoiding carbon tax charges for offshore gas fields in Norway. Pipeline transport of CO2 operates as a mature market technology (IPCC, 2005), costing 1–5 US$/tCO2 per 100 km (high end for very large volumes) (IEA, 2006a). Several thousand kilometres of pipelines already transport 40 Mt/yr of CO2 to EOR projects. The costs of transport and storage of CO2 could decrease slowly as technology matures further and the plant scale increases.
Table 4.5: Current cost ranges for the components of a CCS system applied to a given type of power plant or industrial source
| CCS system components | Cost range | Remarks |
|---|
| Capture from a coal- or gas-fired power plant | 15-75 US$/tCO2 net captured | Net costs of captured CO2 compared to the same plant without capture |
| Capture from hydrogen and ammonia production or gas processing | 5-55 US$/tCO2 net captured | Applies to high-purity sources requiring simple drying and compression |
| Capture from other industrial sources | 25-115 US$/tCO2 net captured | Range reflects use of a number of different technologies and fuels |
| Transport | 1-8 US$/tCO2 transported | Per 250 km pipeline or shipping for mass flow rates of 5 (high end) to 40 (low end) MtCO2/yr. |
| Geological storagea | 0.5-8 US$/tCO2 net injected | Excluding potential revenues from EOR or ECBM. |
| Geological storage: monitoring and verification | 0.1-0.3 US$/tCO2 injected | This covers pre-injection, injection, and post-injection monitoring, and depends on the regulatory requirements |
| Ocean storage | 5-30 US$/tCO2 net injected | Including offshore transportation of 100–500 km, excluding monitoring and verification |
| Mineral carbonation | 50-100 US$/tCO2 net mineralized | Range for the best case studied. Includes additional energy use for carbonation |