I-SEE Zoom Webinar

The role of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in delivering 1.5°C

Professor Niall Mac Dowell and Dr Mai Bui, Imperial College London

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expected to play an increasingly important role in limiting global warming to 1.5°C. There is a wide range of potential applications for CCS, these include delivering low carbon heat, power and fuels, decarbonising industry and net removal of atmospheric CO2 (i.e., negative emissions); providing a least cost pathway to decarbonise different sectors. The technical elements of CCS are well understood with a range of state-of-the-art technologies available at commercial scale. However, the current CCS deployment rate is discordant with the scale required to meet mitigation targets. The barriers preventing large-scale deployment of CCS is likely due to a combination of factors. We provide insight on how to move the discipline forward, highlighting key challenges that should be addressed over the course of the next decade, giving a balanced perspective on the scientific, policy and commercial priorities.

Niall Mac Dowell is a Professor in Energy Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of both the IChemE and the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research is focused on understanding the transition to a low carbon economy. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Joule. Niall has more than a decade’s experience as a consultant to the public and private sectors. He has worked with a range of private sector energy companies, and has provided evidence to members of the Select Committee on Energy and Climate Change and has given advice to DECC/BEIS, the IEA, the IEAGHG the ETI and the JRC. Niall is a member of Total’s Scientific Advisory Board, was also a member of the US National Petroleum Council (NPC) CCUS Roadmap Team. Niall has been a member of the technical working group of the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) and served as the Secretary of the IChemE's Energy Centre. Finally, Niall was awarded the Qatar Petroleum Prize for his work on Clean Fossil Fuels in 2010 and the IChemE’s Nicklin medal for his work on low carbon energy in 2015.

Dr Mai Bui is a Research Associate in the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. Mai’s research is focused on the combination of pilot plant experiments and dynamic process modelling. She has first-hand experience in designing pilot plant test campaigns, including the CSIRO’s Loy Yang pilot plant in Australia, CO2 capture facility at TCM in Norway and UKCCSRC PACT pilot plant in the UK. Mai has expertise in developing chemical process modelling tools and surrogate models for a variety of applications, including industrial processes and negative emission technologies (BECCS & DAC). Since completing her PhD early 2016, Mai has published 15 journal papers, edited two books, several reports and a book chapter. She is a Future Energy Leader at the IChemE Energy Centre, as well as a member of the CCUS Early Career Professionals Forum at BEIS.

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