Latest ERP report highlights the environmental challenges facing Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage (CCUS) and Hydrogen.
Why are environmental constraints on CCUS processes – production, transportation, storage and use of carbon dioxide – and the production, storage, transportation and use of hydrogen important? Can we deploy these technologies at scale in the UK and protect our communities and wildlife? Could our air, land and water be affected? Can we move and store carbon dioxide and hydrogen safely and for the long term? This report looks to raise important environmental considerations associated with these questions:
- What are the main environmental challenges associated with CCUS and Hydrogen?
- Do environmental constraints represent a fundamental barrier to deployment of CCUS and Hydrogen at scale?
- How can we ensure environmental considerations are key to strategic decisions about the potential role of CCUS and Hydrogen?
- How do we listen to and respond to public concern about CCUS and Hydrogen?
The report recommends:
- Consider whether water resource and quality issues will limit the deployment of CCUS at scale.
- Put safety of the public and the environment first.
- Be open and transparent about risks, including solvents.
- Calculate total efficiency of the complete CCUS process.
- Calculate the total expenditure (Totex) cost of CCUS.
- Demonstrate carbon dioxide storage is safe and permanent.
- Proactive and visible public engagement.
Conclusions:
As with many emerging technologies, Hydrogen and CCUS provides exciting opportunities and pose new challenges too. The UK Government and the Climate Change Committee both see a significant role for hydrogen and CCUS in the journey to Net Zero by 2050. To ensure this opportunity is grasped, then collectively the industry, government, and regulators must explore both the benefits and risks the technology brings at the earliest opportunity. We are facing a climate emergency and an ecological emergency – it is essential that new technologies are deployed to both deliver decarbonisation and protect people and wildlife too. Investors, regulators, and the public are hungry for assurance that new technologies:
- will be fit for the future when deployed at scale.
- they can operate within the environmental constraints a future climate brings.
- and most importantly, human health is prioritised.
By resolving these questions in a prompt, open and transparent way then developers can build investor confidence and public acceptance of the technology which will be needed to improve the prospects of a smooth energy transition towards Net-Zero.
The UK’s Net Zero target is at risk without substantial change in corporate and public behaviour
All new climate change initiatives need “behaviour change enabling plans” to ensure success, with deployment of products and services needing to consider “ease of installation, operability and affordability”, according to a new report by the Energy Research Partnership.
The report How behaviour change will unlock Net Zero says the current social environment is not conducive to the behaviour change needed for Net-Zero
Key findings include:
- BARRIER: The report found that a key barrier to cutting carbon emissions are the significant changes in behaviour required, with both the public and by businesses needing solutions to enable capability, motivation and opportunity to reduce carbon emissions.
- ENABLERS: When considering substantial changes which will affect people’s daily lives – policy makers, service providers and manufacturers must consider public acceptance and realistic timeframes for people to change behaviour and accept the ‘new normal.’
- INTERVENTION: UK businesses must service these changes in market demand due to behaviour change within the UK population. This will ensure there is not a relapse to carbon-emitting lifestyles due to lack of availability.
- POLICY: Policy-driven behaviour change must be preceded with “behaviour change enabling plans” for business and the general public to move towards a low-carbon lifestyle.
Conclusions:
- ‘Social contagion’ – is evidenced in a range of energy-related behaviours – including SUV sales, excessive calorie intake, solar-PV adoption, and electricity conservation.
- More supportive social environments with ‘visible positive behaviours’ can trigger people to make low-carbon choices and counteract these ‘behavioural externalities’ that influence others to act in ways that prevent carbon reduction.
- Data and digital tools – have great potential to reduce barriers and accelerate system change. Including the adoption of smart tariffs and other smart technologies through smarter digital comparison tools; leveraging data on savings and satisfaction from early adopters of low-carbon heating solutions; and supporting shifts to more sustainable and healthy diets through better collection of food-carbon data and personalised feedback on shopping habits.
With the transition towards Net-Zero, our reliance on weather dependant energy generation will leave a significant gap in the UK’s energy supply without continuing to use existing fossil fuel reserves.
Increasingly the UK’s electricity supply is reliant upon gas and diesel reciprocating engines to plug the gap when renewable generation is limited due to weather conditions. Short-term engine operating cycles of less than ten minutes result in very low electrical efficiencies and high levels of localised air pollution.
Market uncertainty has slowed the roll-out of battery energy storage assets which are required to replace gas and diesel engines in Fast Response Contracts. Battery energy storage technology (Li-ion) is currently limited to operating periods of less than 2 hours and are generally unable to access around 50% of the installed capacity due to technical constrains.
Reduced renewable energy generation in excess of 2 hours is reliant on gas and diesel reciprocating engines due to CCGT and Nuclear power generation availability at short notice. Further increases of up to 8GW in electrical demand by 2030 is expected due to the forecasted growth in electric powered vehicles. Electrical storage using pumped hydro in the UK has lacked investment and electro-mechanical technologies are still in their infancy, lacking industry and government focus.
Around 80% of the UK’s heat demand is currently supplied by natural gas which is unlikely to be compatible with the Government’s ‘Net-Zero 2050’ target. The expected growth in heat pump deployment for hot water and space heating will add significant electrical demand on the system particularly during periods of low solar electrical energy availability. Although the efficiency of heat pumps is well proven, retrofitting this technology within older properties will require further investment in improving insulation and heat storage.
Contributing ERP Members to this report: –
| ABB
ARUP
Atkins
Worcester Bosch
Carbon Trust
Committee on Climate Change
Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy
Department for Transport
EDF Energy
Energy Saving Trust
Energy Systems Catapult
ERA
Wales and West Utilities |
Environment Agency
EPSRC
Hitachi
Innovate UK
National Grid
National Infrastructure Commission
Origami Energy
Turquoise International
Scottish Enterprise
Welsh Government
UKERC
University of Cambridge
Ofgem |
Contributing Non-ERP Members to this report:
University of Birmingham
