Glencore’s CTSCo project in the Surat Basin has been awarded $5 million under the Federal Government’s $50 million Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Development Fund.
The CTSCo project, which is being progressed with Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA), aims to lay the foundation for a Queensland carbon hub and demonstrate Australia’s first full-scale, operational and end-to-end use of CCUS on a coal-fired power station.
LETA said the demonstration of this technology — especially the establishment of billions of tonnes of permanent CO2 storage — would enable clean hydrogen and ammonia to be produced from coal, which could open up significant export opportunities, new jobs and new markets in Australia.
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“The government’s funding is a welcome contribution and recognition for this important project which will lay the foundation for a Queensland carbon hub,” LETA chief executive officer Mark McCallum said.
“Glencore’s CTSCo project is the lynchpin to opening up the highly prospective Surat region and the potential to store hundreds of millions, if not billions of tonnes of CO2 safely and permanently.
“With its many coal and gas-fired power stations operating alongside other significant industries, establishing a CCUS hub in this region will play a critical role in decarbonising the things we rely on every day and, with government funding, we’re ready to make this happen.”
Projects to deliver $412m of investment
Other successful applicants under the CCUS Development Fund included:
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Santos Limited – up to $15 million towards the low-cost capture and storage of CO2 emitted from Santos’s Moomba LNG operations for permanent storage in the Cooper Basin, South Australia. The project is expected to store 1.7 million tonnes per annum on an ongoing basis.
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Mineral Carbonation International – up to $14.6 million towards the construction of a mobile demonstration plant that captures and uses CO2 to produce manufacturing and construction materials, such as concrete, plasterboard and fire-retardant materials on Kooragang Island, New South Wales.
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Energy Developments Pty Ltd – up to $9 million towards the capture and use of CO2 emitted from the production of biomethane at landfill sites across multiple locations across Australia for use in cement carbonation curing.
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Corporate Carbon Advisory Pty Ltd – up to $4 million towards Australia’s first demonstration of a direct-air-capture (DAC) and storage project to geologically sequester CO2 in an existing injection well in Moomba, South Australia.
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Boral Limited – up to $2.4 million towards a pilot scale carbon capture and use project to improve the quality of recycled concrete, masonry and steel slag aggregates at New Berrima, New South Wales.
The six funded projects were tipped to create close to 470 direct jobs and deliver $412 million of investment, much of this in regional areas.
Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the overwhelming demand for funding through the CCUS Development Fund was further proof of the viability and importance of carbon capture technologies.
The CCUS Development Fund is part of the Government’s $1.9 billion new energy technologies package announced in the 2020-21 Budget.
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This article originally appeared on Industry Queensland and is republished here with permission.