In 2022, Wood Mackenzie predicts that companies and governments will have to fulfill their promises on energy transition technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and low-carbon hydrogen.
This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) has sparked a wave of announcements about new projects, policies and investment in both CCUS and low-carbon hydrogen, according to an energy consultancy.
For CCUS and low-carbon hydrogen, Wood Mackenzie identifies the most pressing issues in 2022. For the first time ever, the number of projects for both CCUS and low-carbon hydrogen saw a significant increase in 2021. As net zero targets increased and policy support and technology advancements became more available to businesses, they became more motivated. One-hundred and fifty new hub projects have been announced for the CCUS pipeline, a seven-fold increase. With green hydrogen projects accounting for 75 percent of the new hydrogen projects, the pipeline for low-carbon hydrogen has more than doubled
A total of 15 CCUS projects are being monitored by Wood Mackenzie with an eye toward a final investment decision (FID) in 2022. If they’re successful, they’ll add 35 Mtpa of new CO2 capture or storage capacity and cost around US$18 billion to develop. The bulk of the CCUS capacity isn’t expected to be operational until at least 2022.
Hydrogen investment in 2021 totaled more than $66 billion, with projects ranging from research and development to refueling infrastructure. Increasing offtake agreements, according to Wood Mackenzie, is necessary to support increased capital flow for hydrogen production projects. Hydrogen production projects need between $3.5 billion and $22 billion in order to reach final investment decision (FID) in 2022.
It is also examined how policy is evolving in Canada, Europe, and Southeast Asia. For CCUS and hydrogen, scale-up is essential to maintaining and building momentum. Hydrogen carriers, including green ammonia, have been hailed as one of the most cost-effective methods of transporting green hydrogen around the world.
Wood Mackenzie predicts that in 2022, new storage and chemical plant design technologies will be developed. Direct Air Capture is expected to go from a wildcard to a reality thanks to factors such as the US Infrastructure Bill’s $3 billion in funding, increasing demand for e-fuels, and the burgeoning voluntary carbon market.
