A Preliminary Cost Curve Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Potential in China

This study presents a preliminary assessment of the potential for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technologies to deploy within China. China has a large theoretical and geographically dispersed geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity in excess of 2,300,000 MtCO(2) in onshore basins with deep saline-filled sedimentary basins accounting for over 99 percent of the total. There are over 1620 large stationary CO2 point sources that emit a combined 3890 MtCO(2)/year and 91 percent are within 100 miles (161 km) of a candidate deep geologic storage formation. The preliminary cost curve analysis suggests that the majority of emissions from China's large CO2 point sources can be stored in large deep saline formations at estimated transport and storage costs of less than $10/tCO(2). This indicates that there is significant potential for CCS technologies to deploy in China and for these technologies to deliver deep, sustained, and cost-effective emissions reductions for China over the course of this century. The research reported here was the result of an unprecedented and highly productive collaboration between researchers in the United States and China. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.