Carbon Loop #010
Walking Back and Moving Forward
A newsletter by the CCUSNA dedicated to highlighting the Australian carbon capture, utilisation and storage industry.
🚪 U.S. DOE Pulls Plug on $3.6 Billion in Clean Energy Grants
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has axed 24 federally funded clean energy projects worth over $3.6 billion. Most were industrial decarb, hydrogen, or CCS-related, and many hadn’t hit milestones or “advanced energy needs,” according to the DOE.
“We will not continue to fund projects that aren’t meeting basic milestones.” – Chris Wright
The cutbacks follow a months-long review of Infrastructure Law funding. Critics argue this move undercuts momentum just as the U.S. CCS sector was getting airborne.
While it’s sad for the overall CCUS industry (not to mention, you know, the Planet), the only silver lining I can think of is that perhaps this creates uncertainty that will make Australian CCUS Projects look better by comparison.
📘 New: South Australia’s CCUS Supply Chain Study
Infrastructure SA has released a new CCUS Infrastructure and National Supply Chain Study and it’s more than just a map.
Key highlights:
Catalogues Australia’s current CCUS capability across equipment, engineering, storage and logistics
Identifies infrastructure shortfalls (uh - that’s a very long pipeline, South Australia?) and policy barriers
Recommends three phases of action to strengthen national readiness, including shared infrastructure and workforce development
Net Zero Australia has found that in almost all modelled of emissions reduction in the energy sector globally from 2030 to 20508 scenarios, CCUS is required to achieve net zero by 2050 through targeted use within hard-to-abate sectors
and
Carbon capture and storage gives South Australia the opportunity to create a new industrial ‘hub’ for competitive abatement of emissions – especially in sectors with difficult to abate process emissions such as cement, steel and iron manufacturing; natural gas processing; and biofuel production. Furthermore, carbon capture and storage can also enable new technologies such as low carbon production from natural gas (blue hydrogen), e-fuels, and direct air carbon capture and storage
The report is a huge step forward for CCUS in South Australia, and builds on the momentum generated by the wildly successful startup of Santos’ Moomba CCS Project.
Well done to the Infrastructure SA Team - let’s hope they continue the push forward.
📗 ASFI Drops Final Sustainable Finance Taxonomy
After two years and a few hundred footnotes, the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) has released its final Taxonomy, defining what counts as “green”, “transitional”, or “ew, gross”.
CCUS makes the cut as a transitional activity, provided it meets performance thresholds and supports a shift to net zero. I would have preferred the green tier, but it remains a subtle but important validation for projects that previously sat in a grey zone.
Whether capital actually flows depends on how super funds and lenders choose to use it, but at least the rulebook has arrived. Also - this gives me an opportunity to link to one of my favourite infographics of the year.
🌍 International Round-up
While the U.S. was busy cancelling grants, other countries just got on with it:
🇳🇴 Northern Lights (Norway) received its first CO₂ shipment, officially launching cross-border CO₂ transport and offshore storage under the North Sea.
🇨🇳 CNOOC (China) converted the massive Enping 15-1 oil platform into Asia’s first large-scale offshore CCS site. CO₂ storage capacity: 300,000 tonnes/year.
🌏 MOL, MISC & PETRONAS (Southeast Asia) launched a new JV — Jules Nautica — to own and operate liquefied CO₂ carriers. The shipping layer of the CCUS puzzle is quietly falling into place.
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Especially like the AFSI article. At least we are not in the “ew, gross” category. Surely we are in the slips, ready to catch….
Rosie